life'""" n A N D B O O K DF BIFtDS OF ^HE WESTERN UNITED STATES Flo re he e M e r r i evra B a.i 1 ey *:^. !^-> Mfi «'^T ?€>"•"- N^i'i I>, 't'v^. ir/i^Vf- .V ^viS f^ .V<'>1^' '^ r ■^^^:t^v^^^.,,'^ V:,.*^' I &'A .-fVs **^'' i^>: ; >.V4 '^*- viT-, .i w vr^-^. y FOR THE PEOPLE FOR EDVCATION FOR SCIENCE LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY BY GIFT OF ALBERT S. BICKMORE AND CHARLOTTE B. BICKMORE ^oofefii lip f lorence Jilcrriam ^ailep. BIRDS THROUGH AN OPERA-GLASS. In | Riverside Library for Young People. Illustrated, i i6mo, 75 cents. ! MY SUMMER IN A MORMAN VILLAGE. With j an Illustration. i6mo, $i.oo. i A-BIRDING ON A BRONCO Illustrated. i6mo, j ^1.25. I BIRDS OF VILLAGE AND FIELD. A Bird Book for Beginners. Fully illustrated. i2nio, $2.00. HANDBOOK OF BIRDS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. With many illustrations. i2mo, $3.50, net. HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. Boston and New York RING-BILLED GULL U'age 23) HANDBOOK OF BIRDS OF THE Western United States INCLUDING THE GREAT PLAINS, GREAT BASIN, PACIFIC SLOPE, AND LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY BY FLORENCE MERRIAM BAILEY Wrril THIRTY-THREE FULL-PAGE PLATES BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES, AND OVER SIX HUNDRED CUTS IN THE TEXT BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY Cbr nilicrsibi press, tiTambntioc I i)0 2 COPYRIGHT, 1902, BY FLORENCE A. BAILEY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published November, igo2 PREFATORY NOTE. The preparation of this book has been facilitated by the good offices of many ornithologists. To Mr. Robert Ridgway and Dr. C. Hart Merriam I am indebted for use of the National Museum and Biological Survey collections, and to Mr. Ridgway for generous help in the study of the museum skins. I am also indebted to Mr. Ridgway for use of the proof of his forthcoming Part II. of Birds of North and Middle America, and to Dr. Merriam for use of the Biological Survey records. Dr. X. K. Fisher has given me kindly advice at all points and important help by a critical reading of the entire manuscript, with especial examination of distributions. From my husband, Mr. Vernon Bailey, I have had untiring advice and assistance, in addition to the preparation of the water bird descrip- tions and keys, and a large number of biographies of both water and land birds. Mr. E. W. Nelson has generously corrected and extended the ranges of the birds in Mexico, and Mr. H. C. Ober- holser has rendered much valuable critical aid, while Dr. T. S. Palmer has contributed an important chapter on bird protection. Local lists of much value to students have kindly been furnished by Mr. A. W. Anthony, ]\Ir. Joseph Grinuell, Mr. Walter K. Fisher, Mr. William II. Kobb(^, and Mr. Frank Bond, to whom, as to all those who have helped in the preparation of the book, I would ex- press my sincere gratitude and appreciation. CONTENTS PAGE List of Illustrations ix Introduction xxv Acknowledgments xxv Collecting and preparing Birds, Nests, and Eggs. By Vernon Bailey xxvi Collecting Birds ......... xxvi Measuring .......... xxvii Making Bird 8kins xxviii Skinning .......... xxix Stuffing XXX Labeling .......... xxx Sexing ........... xxx Collecting and preserving Eggs and Nests .... xxxi Note-Taking, Note-Books, and Journals xxxiii Life Zones xxxiii Migration ........... xxxvi Economic Ornithology xxxvii Bird Protection. By Theodore S. Palmer .... xxxix Local Bird Lists xliii Portland, Oregon. By A. W. Anthony xliii San Francisco Bay. By William H. Kobb^ .... xlviii Santa Chira Valley and Santa Cruz Mountains. By Waltt'r K. Fisher . * . li Pasadena, California. By Joseph Grinnell .... Ivi Fort Sherman, Idaho. By J. C. Merrill .... Ixiv Cheyenne, Wyoming. By Frank Bond .... Ixix Pinal, Pima, and Gila Counties, Arizona. By W. E. I). .Seott Ixxiv Books of lioferenee Ixxxiii Use of Handbook Keys Ixxxviii lilUDS OF THE UNITED ST.VTE.S WEST OF THE ONE IIUNDBEDTH MEKIDIAN. Kkv id Ohdkus ... Kky to Familiks ok Watkk liiun.s CONTENTS Order Pygopodes: Diving Birds Family Podieipiclse : Grebes Family Gaviidfe : Loons .... Family Alcidse : Aixks, Murres, and Puflfins Order Longipennes : Long-winged Swimmers Family Stercorariidse : Jaegers, etc. Family Laridse : Gulls and Terns Order Tubinares : Tube-nosed Swimmers . Family Diomedeidae : Albatrosses Family Procellariidse : Fulmars and Shearwaters Order Steganopodes : Totipalmate Swimmers Family Anhingidse : Darters Family Phalacrocoraeidae : Cormorants Family Pelecanidse : Pelicans Family Fregatidse : Man-o'-War Birds Order Anseres : Lamellirostral Swimmers Family Anatidse : Ducks, Geese, and Swans Order Herodiones : Herons, Storks, Ibises, i Family Ibididfe : Ibises .... Family Ciconiidae : Storks and Wood Ibises Family Ardeidse : Herons, Egrets, Bitterns Order Paludicol^ : Cranes, Rails, etc. Family Gruidae : Cranes .... Family Rallidae : Rails, Gallinules, and Coots Order Limicol^ : Shore Birds Family Phalaropodidse : Phalaropes . Family Recurvirostridaj : Avoeets and Stilts Family Scolopacidse : Snipe, Sandi^ipers, etc. Family Cliaradriidse : Plovers Family Aphrizidte : Surf Birds and Turnstones Family Haematopodid?e : Oyster-catchers . Family Jacanidae : Jacanas .... Key to Families of Land Birds . Order Gallin/E : Gallinaceous Birds . Family Tetraonidte : Grouse, Partridges, Quail, etc Family Phasianidas : Pheasants and Turkeys Family Cracidae : Currassows and Guans Order Columb^ : Pigeons .... Family Columbidae : Pig'eons Order Raptores: Birds op Prey Family Cathartid^e : Vultures Family Falconidae : Falcons, Hawks, Eagles, etc Family Strigidae : Barn Owls Family Bubonidae : Horned Owls, etc. Order Psittaci : Parrots, Macaws, Paroquets, etc Family Psittacidae : Parrots and Paroquets . CONTENTS vii Order Coccyges : Cuckoos, etc 193 Family Cuculiclie : Anis, Road-ruiuier.s. and Cuckoos . . . 193 Familj^ Trogonida? : Trogons . . . . . . .197 Family Alcedinidse : Kingfishers ....... 198 Order Pici : WooDrECKERS, etc 200 Family Picidae : Woodpeckers 200 Order Macrochires : Goatsuckers. Swifts, and Hummingbirds 222 Family Caprimulgidfe : Goatsuckers ...... 222 Family "Micropodidse : Swifts 229 Family Trochilidte ; Hummingbirds ...... 232 Order Passeres : Perching Birds 245 Family Cotingidae : Cotingas ....... 245 Family Tyraunidae : Tyrant Flycatchers 245 Family Alaudidae : Larks 265 Family Corvidag : Crows, Jays, Mag-pies, etc. .... 269 Family Sturnidaj : Starlings 285 Family Icteridse : Blackbirds, Orioles, etc. ..... 285 Family Fringillidje : Finches, Sparrows, etc. .... 303 Family Tanagridje : Tanagers ....... 379 Family Hirundinidae : Swallows ....... 382 Family AmpelidiB : Waxwings and Phainoijeplas . . . 387 Family Laniidffi : Shrikes 391 Family Vireonidte : Vireos ........ 394 Family Mniotiltid;« : Wood Warblers ...... 401 Family Motaeillidce : Wagtails ....... 431 Family Cinclidaj : Dippers ........ 432 Family Troglodytidae : Wrens, Thrashers, etc. .... 433 Family Certhiidae : Creepers 451 Family Paridae : Nuthatches and Tits 452 Family Sylviidie : Kinglets, Gnatcatchers. etc. .... 463 Family Turdidae: Thrushes, Solitaires, Bluebirds, etc. . 467 Appendix. Color Key to Genera of some of the Common Passerine Birds . 470 Index 4^1 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FULL-PAGE PLATES, I. Ring-billed Gull . II. Zone Map . III. TOPOGKAPHY OF BlRD IV. Eared Gkebe . V. Forster Tern . VI. Pelagic Cormorant VII. Shoveller VIII. Black-crowned Night Heron IX. Wilson Phalakope X. Black-necked Stilt XI. Long-billed Curlew XII. Snowy Plover . XIII. Scaled Partridge . XIV. Mearns Quail . XV. White-tailed Ptarmigan XVI. Marsh Hawk . XVII. Audubon Caracara XVIII. Poor-will XIX. SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER XX. Arkansas and Cassin Kingbirds XXI. Ash-throated Flycatcher XXII. Magpie .... XXIII. Long-crested Jay . XXIV. WooDHousE Jay XXV. Northern Kaven . XXVI. Yellow-headed Blackbird XXVII. Western Lark Sparrow XXVIII. Texas Pyrrhuloxia XXIX. Lark Bunting XXX. Pileolated Warbler XXXI. Rock Wren . XXXII. Canyon Wren XXXni. Long-billed Marsh Wren FACING PAGE Frontispiece XXXIV 1 7 29 42 54 77 85 86 101 105 118 122 129 150 171 224 240 249 253 270 273 274 280 288 336 371 377 428 44:3 445 450 X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XXXIV. Pygmy Nuthatch 454 XXXV. Mountain Chickadep: 458 XXXVI. Varied Thkush 474 DIAGBAMS. Measurement of Bill . . . . . ... . . xxviii Measurement of Tarsus xxviii FIGUEES IN THE TEXT. FIGURE PAGE 1. Western Grebe, foot . 2 2. Loon, foot ........... 2 3. Tufted Puffin, foot 2 4. Herring Gull, foot 2 5. Parasitic Jaeger, bill ......... 2 6. Short-billed Gull, bill 2 7. Black-footed Albatross, bill 3 8. Giant Fulmar, bill 3 9. Cormorant, foot .......... 3 10. Man-o'-War Bird, bill . 3 11. White-crested Cormorant, bill ....... 3 12. White Pelican, bill 3 13. Merganser, foot .......... 3 14. White-faced Glossy Ibis, bill 4 15. Green Heron, head 4 16. Sandhill Crane, foot 4 17. Florida Gallhiule, foot 4 18. White -rumped Sandpiper, foot ....... 4 19. Killdeer, foot 4 20. Western Grebe, head ......... 5 21. Horned Grebe, head 7 22. Least Grebe 8 23. Pied-biUed Grebe 8 24. Loon, bill 9 25. Pacific Loon, head .11 26. Tufted Puffin, bill 11 27. California Murre, bill 11 28. Rhinoceros Auklet, bill 12 29. Pigeon Guillemot, bill 12 30. Paroquet Auklet, bill 12 31. Least Auklet, bill 12 32. Tufted Puffin, head 12 33. Rhinoceros Auklet, bill 13 34. Paroquet Auklet, bill .14 35. Least Auklet, bill ......... 14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 3G. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 4.5. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 5L 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 6L 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. .70. 71. 72. 7;}. 74. 75. 7(). 80. Marbled Murrelet Pigeon Guillemot, head California Murre Long-tailed Jaeger, head Herring Gull, bill Forster Tern, bill Heermann Gull . Franklin Gull, head Franklin Gull, wing tip Bonaj)arte Gull, wing tip Sabine Gull, bill . Sabine Gull . Caspian Tern, head Least Tern . Black Tern . Sooty Albatross, bill . Black-footed Albatross, bill Sooty Albatross, bill . Forked-tailed Petrel, bill Slender-billed Fulmar, bill Giant Fulmar, bill Slender-billed Fulmar, bill Kaeding Petrel . White Pelican, bill Man-o'-War Bird, bill Merganser, bill . Mallard, bill Red-breasted Merganser, head Hooded Merganser, head Mallard, head Baldpate. head . Green-winged Teal, head Blue-winged Teal, head Cinnamon Teal, head Pintail, head Wood Duck, head Kedhead,head Canvas-back, head Scaup Duck, head Golden-eye, head . Buffle-head, head Old-squaw, head . Harlequin Duck, head White-winged Scoter, head Kuddv Duck, head xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 8L White-fronted Goose, head ........ 66 82. Canada Goose, head 67 83. White-faced Glossy Ibis, head 71 84. Bittern, head 73 85. Bittern, foot 73 86. Green Heron, head ......... 76 87. Sandhill Crane, foot ......... 79 88. California Clapper Rail ........ 80 89. Virginia Rail, head 80 90. Virginia Rail, foot 80 91. Carolina Rail, head 81 92. Yellow Rail 82 93. Black Rail 82 94. Florida Gallinule 82 95. Florida Gallinule, foot 83 96. Coot 83 97. Coot, foot 83 98. Red Phalarope, foot 84 99. Red Phalarope .84 100. Northern Phalarope 85 101. Avocet, head 86 102. Wilson Snipe, head ......... 88 103. Long-billed Dowitcher 89 104. Stilt Sandpiper 90 105. Knot 91 106. Pectoral Sandpiper 91 107. White-rumped Sandpiper ........ 92 108. Baird Sandpiper 92 109. Least Sandpiper .......... 92 110. Red-backed Sandpiper ........ 93 111. Semipalmated Sandpiper ........ 93 112. Western Sandpiper 94 113. Sanderling 94 114. Sanderling, foot 94 115. Marbled Godwit 95- 116. Greater Yellow-legs " . .96 117. Lesser Yellow-legs ......... 97 118. Solitary Sandpiper 97 119. Black-bellied Plover, head 102 120. Killdeer, head 104 121. Semipalmated Plover, head 104 122. Mountain Plover 105 123. Surf Bird 106 124. Black Turnstone, summer plumage ...... 107 125. Black Turnstone, head, winter plumage 107 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 126. Black Oyster-catcher . 127. Black Oyster-catcher, foot 128. Bob-white, bill . 129. Dove, bill . 130. Turkey Vulture, bill . 131. Turkey Vulture, foot . 132. Sparrow Hawk, bill . 133. Fish Hawk, foot . 134. Owl, bill . 135. Saw-whet Owl, head . 136. Western Horned Owl, head 137. Kingfisher, head . 138. Kingfisher, foot . 139. Cuckoo, foot 140. Cuckoo, bill. 141. Woodpecker (Sphyrapicus), bill 142. Woodpecker (Sphyrapicus), tail 143. Woodpecker (Dryobates), foot 144. Woodpecker (Picoides), foot 145. Hummingbird, bill 146. Swift, bill . 147. Nighthawk, foot . 148. Swift, foot . 149. Song- Sparrow, foot 150. Skylark, bill 151. Horned Lark, foot 152. Flycatcher, bill . 153. Swallow, wing' 154. Sprague Pipit, foot 155. Pipir, foot . 156. Warbler (Dendroica), bill 157. Black and White Warbler, foot 158. Song- Sparrow^ bill 159. Goldfinch, bill . . 160. Crossbill, bill 161. Longspur, bill 162. Evening- Grosbeak, bill 16^j. Scarlet Tanag-er, bill 1(54. .Summer Tanager, bill 165. Oriole, bill . 16<). Cowbird. bill 167. Crow Blackl)ir(l, bill 1(5S. Shrike, wing feathers 16t». Loggerliead Shrike, head 170. Wnn. bill . xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 171. Jay, bill .112 172. Wren-Tit, bill .112 173. Robin, wing- feathers 112 174. Kinglet, foot 112 175. Warbling Vireo, foot . . 113 176. Warbling- Vireo, bill 113 177. Vireo, tail 113 178. Gnatcatclier, tail 113 179. Sag-e Thrasher, foot . . . . . . . . .113 180. Bro-wn Creeper, bill . 113 181. Brown Creeper, tail . . . . . . . . .113 182. Chickadee, bill 113 183. Nuthatch, bill 113 184. Sage Grouse, tail . . . . . . . . .113 185. Sharjj-tailed Grouse, tail . . . . . . . .114 186. Ptarmigan, foot 114 187. Dusky Grouse, foot 114 188. Ruffed Grouse, foot 114 189. Mearns Quail, foot . . . 114 190. Bob-white, foot 114 191. Bob-white 115 192. Texan Bob-white 116 193. Masked Bob-white 116 194. Plumed Partridge 117 195. Valley Partridge, female . 120 196. Valley Partridge, male 121 197. Gambel Partridge, male . 121 198. Gambel Partridge, female . 121 199. Dusky Grouse • • .124 200. Richardson Grouse 126 201. Franklin Grouse 126 202. Gray Ruffed Grouse 128 203. Southern White-tailed Ptarmigan 129 204. Prairie Hen 1.30 205. Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse 132 206. Sage Grouse .......-•• 133 207. Band-tailed Pigeon . 138 208. Mourning Dove . . 140 209. White-winged Dove . 142 210. Mexican Ground Dove 143 211. Inea Dove .^ • • 143 212. Turkey Vulture, head 145 213. Fish Hawk, foot 146 214. Prairie Falcon, feather 147 215. Sparrow Hawk, bill . . . ^ . • = • .147 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 216. Swallow-tailed Kite, tail 217. White-tailed Kite, foot 218. Audubon Caracaia, bill 219. Mexican Goshawk, feather 220. Swallow-tailed Kite . 221. Mississippi Kite . 222. Sharp-shinned Hawk . 223. Cooper Hawk 224. Goshawk . 225. Sennett White-tailed Hawk 226. Red-bellied Hawk, primar; 227. Zone-tailed Hawk, tail 228. Red-tailed Hawk 220. Zone-tailed Hawk, tail 230. Swainson Hawk . 231. Rough-leg-ged Hawk . 232. Ferruginous Rough-leg 233. Golden Eagle 234. Bald Eagle . 235. Duck Hawk 236. Pigeon Hawk 237. Sparrow Hawk . 238. Fish Hawk . 239. Earn Owl, foot . 240. Barn Owl . 241. Saw-whet Owl 242. Western Horned Owl, head 243. Long-eared Owl . 244. Short-eared Owl . 245. Barred Owl . 246. Saw-whet Owl, head . 247. Screech Owl 248. Dwarf Screech Owl 240. Western Horned Owl, head 250. Snowy Owl . 251. Hawk Owl . 252. Burrowing Owl . 253. Pygmy Owl . 254. Elf Owl 255. Groove-billed Ani 256. Road-runner 257. Yellow-billed (^ukoo . 258. Black-l)illed Cuckoo, tail 250. C()p])ery-tailod Trogon 2(»(t. Ht'licd Kingfisher primaries XVI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 261. Texas Kingfisher 262. Woodpecker (Dryobates), foot 268. Woodpecker (Sphyrapicus) , bill 264. Woodpecker (Dryobates). bill 265. Woodpecker (Picoides), foot 266. Northern Pileated Woodpecker 267. Flicker .... 268. Northern Hairy Woodpecker 269. Harris Woodpecker 270. Gaii-dner Woodpecker . 271. Texan Woodj)ecker 272. Nuttall Woodpecker . 273. White-headed Woodpecker 274. Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker 275. Alpine Three-toed Woodpecker 276. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker . 277. Red-naj)ed Sapsucker . 278. Red-breasted Sapsucker 279. Williamson Sapsucker 280. Northern Pileated Woodpecker 281. Red-headed Woodpecker 282. Ant-eating- Woodpecker, head 283. Lewis Woodpecker 284. Red-bellied Woodpecker, head 285. Golden-fronted Woodpecker, head 286. Gila Woodpecker 287. Northern Flicker . 288. Whip-poor-will, head . 289. California Poor-will . 290. Nighthawk, foot . 291. Nig-hthawk, head 292. Nig-hthawk, wing- 293. Texas Nig-hthawk. wing- 294. Swift, tail feather 295. Black Swift 296. Chimney Swift . 297. Vaux Swift .... 298. White-throated Swift . 299. Lucifer Hummingbird, bill 300. Calliope Hummingbird, tail 301. Anna Hummingbird, female, tail 302. Black-chinned Hummingbird, tail 303. Rivoli Hummingbird . 304. Blue-throated Hummingbird 305. Ruby-throated Hummingbird, wing- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 306. 307. 308. 309. 310. 311. 312. 313. 314. 315. 316. 317. 318. 319. 320. 321. 322. 323. 324. 325. 326. 327. Flycatchers 328. 329. 330. 331. 332. 333. 334. 335. 336. 337. 338. 339. 340. 341. 342. 343. 344. 345. 346. Ruby-throated Hummingbird Black-chinned Hummingbird, tail Anna Hummingbird, female, tail Anna Hummingbird, male, tail . Costa Hummingbird . Anna Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird, outer primaries Broad-tailed Hummingbird, male, tail Broad-tailed Hummingbird, female, tail Rufous Hummingbird, male, tail Rufous Hummingbird . Allen Hummingbird, male, tail . Allen Hummingbird, female, tail Calliope Hummingbird, tail Calliope Hummingbird Lucifer Hummingbird Broad-billed Hummingbird Xantus Becard .... Kingbird Arkansas Kingbird, wing- tip Cassin Kingbird, wing- tip . f Crested Flycatcher I Wood Pewee Phoebe I Kingbird [ Least Flycatcher Flycatcher (Myiarchus). foot Phoebe Western Black Phcebe, head Flycatcher (Contopus), foot Olive-sided Flycatcher Coues Flycatcher Western Wood Pewee . Flycatcher (Empidonax), foot Western Flycatcher, bill Hammond Flycatcher, bill . Wright Flycatcher, bill Western Flycatcher, bill Hammond Flycatcher . Hammond Flycatcher, bill . Wright Flycatcher, bill Horned Lark, head P.illid Horned Lark . Blue Jay .... iJoeky Mountain .lay, head . xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 347. Oregon Jay, head 278 348. Crow, bill 279 349. Clarke Nutcracker 282 350. Bobolink, tail . 285 351. Bobolink, head . 285 352. Cowbird, bill . . . . , 285 353. Meadowlark, head 285 354. Bronzed Grackle, bill 285 355. Oriole, bill 285 356. Yellow-headed Blackbird, foot 285 357. Red-wing, head 286 358. Bobolink 286 359. Cowbird 287 360. Red-winged Blackbird 290 361. Meadowlark 292 362. Scott Oriole 294 363. Arizona Hooded Oriole 296 364. Baltimore Oriole 297 365. Bullock Oriole, head 298 366. Brewer Blackbird 300 367. Bronzed Grackle 301 368. Redpoll, wing- 303 369. Crossbill, bill 303 370. Western Evening Grosbeak, bill 303 371. Redpoll, head 304 372. Snowflake, head 304 373. McCown Longspur, tail ........ 304 374. Pine Finch, head 304 375. Black-headed Grosbeak, head 304 376. Western Lark Sparrow 304 377. Longspur, foot 304 378. Vesper Sparrow, tail 304 379. Dickcissel, head 305 380. English Sparrow, male ... .... 305 381. Pine Grosbeak, head 305 382. Pyrrhuloxia 305 383. Cardinal, head 305 384. Arctic Towhee 305 385. Slate-colored Junco, head ........ 305 386. Sparrow (Aimophila), wing ....... 306 387. White-crowned Sparrow . . 306 388. Green-tailed Towhee, head 306 389. Fox Sparrow, head 306 390. California Towhee . ....... 306 391. Bunting (Cyanospiza), bill ..... o .. 306 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xix 392. Song- Sparrow, head 306 393. Western Evening- Grosbeak 307 394. Pine Grosbeak 308 395. California Purple Finch, tail 310 396. Purple Finch 311 397. Cassin Purple Finch, liead 312 398. House Finch, male 312 399. House Finch, female 312 400. Crossbill, bill 313 401. White-winged Crossbill 315 402. Gray-crowned Leucosticte, head . . .• . . . . 315 403. Hoary Redpoll 318 404. Redpoll, head 319 405. Goldfinch 321 406. Arkansas Goldfinch . . . . " 322 407. Mexican Goldfinch 323 408. Lawrence Goldfinch 323 409. Pine Finch 323 410. English Sparrow, male 324 411. English Sparrow, female ........ 824 412. Snowflake 325 413. Lapland Longspur, summer male 326 414. Lapland Longspur, winter male 326 415. Smith Long-spur, summer male 327 416. Chestnut-collared Longspur, summer male 328 417. Chestnut-collared Longspur, winter male 328 418. McCown Long-spur ......... 328 419. Western Vesper Sparrow, tail 329 420. Sandwich Sparrow . . • • • • • .331 421. Large-billed Sparrow 333 422. Baird Sparrow .......... 333 423. Western Grasshopper Sparrovv' . 334 424. Sharp-tailed Sparrow, tail ........ 335 425. Harris Sparrow ... ...... 337 426. White-crowned Sparrow ........ 338 427. Gambel Sparrow, head 339 428. Golden-crowned Sparrow 340 429. White-throated Sparrow, head 340 430. Western Tree Sparrow ........ 341 431. Western Chipping Sparrow, head 342 432. -Brewer Sparrow, head ........ 343 433. Worthen Sparrow, head ........ 344 434. Black-chinned Sparrow 345 435. Slate-colored J unco ......... 340 436. Thurber J unco .....•-• 348 XX LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS 437. Red-backed Juneo 349 438. Black-throated Sparrow, head 350 439. Sag-e Sparrow, head 352 440. Cassin Sparrow .......... 353 441. Rufous-winged Sparrow, head 354 442. Rufous-crowned Sparrow, head ....... 354 443. Song- Sparrow, head 356 444. Desert Song- Sparrow ......... 357 445. Mountain Song- Sparrow 357 446. Samuels Song' Sparrow ........ 358 447. Rusty Song Sparrow 358 448. Lincoln Sparrow .......... 359 449. Fox Sparrow 361 450. Townsend Sparrow ......... 361 451. Thick-billed Sparrow, bill 362 452. Slate-colored Sparrow, bill ........ 363 453. Stephens Sparrow, bill 363 454. Calif ornia Towhee 363 455. Towhee, head 363 456. Towhee, head 364 457. Arctic Towhee 364 458. Spurred Towhee 365 459. Oregon Towhee 365 460. California Towhee, head . 367 461. Green-tailed Towhee, head 368 462. Cardinal, head 369 463. Rose-breasted Grosbeak ........ 372 464. Black-headed Grosbeak, head 372 465. Bunting- (Cyanospiza), bill ........ 374 466. Dickcissel, head 377 467. Scarlet Tanager, head 379 468. Summer Tanager, bill 379 469. Scarlet Tanager, bill 380 470. Summer Tanager, bill 382 471. Barn Swallow, tail 382 472. Rough-winged Swallow, feather 382 473. Cliff Swallow, head . .384 474. Barn Swallow, foot 385 475. Barn Swallow 385 476. White-bellied Swallow 386 477. Bank Swallow 386 478. Rough- winged Swallow, feather 387 479. Rough- winged Swallow, head 387 480. Cedar Waxwing 389 481. Phainopepla .......... 390 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS head head 482. Shrike, bill .... 483o Northern Shrike . 484. White-rumped Shrike . 485. Black-capped Vireo, head . 486. Cassin Vireo, head 487. Red-eyed Vireo, head . 488. Warbling- Vireo. head . 489. Red-eyed Vireo, head . 490. Warbling- Vireo, head . 491. Cassin Vireo, head 492. Black-capped Vireo, head . 493. Redstart, bill 494. Red-faced Warbler, bill 495. Black and White Warbler, head 496. Black and White Warbler, foot 497. Warbler (Helminthophila), foot 498. Chat, head .... 499. Northern Parula Warbler. 500. Warbler (Uendroica), bill 501. Black and White Warblei 502o Calaveras Warbler, head 503. Calaveras Warbler, head 504. Northern Parnla Warbler, head 505. Warbler (Dendroica), foot . 506. Blackburnian Warbler, head 507. Yellow Warbler, head 508. Magnolia Warbler, head 509. Olive Warbler . 510. Black-throated Bine Warbler, head 511. Black-throated Gray Warbler, head 512. Hermit Warbler, head 513. Black-throated Green Warbler, head 514. Golden-cheeked Warbler, head 515. Townsend Warbler, head . 516. Black-poll Warbler, head . 517. Yi41o\v-rnniped Warbler, head 518. Chestnnt-sided Warbler, head 519. Olive Warbler 520. Yellow Warbler, head 521. Black-throated Blue Warbler, head 522. Yellow-rnniped Warbler, head 523. Audnl)on Warbler 524. Maon„li;,. W.irbh-r, head 525. Chestnnt-sid.'d Warbler, head 520. Black-puU Wail.l.-r. lu-ad . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 527. Blackburnian Warbler, head 528. Black-throated Gray Warbler, head 529. Golden-cheeked Warbler, head 530. Black-throated Green Warbler, head 53L Towiiseiid Warbler, head . 532. Hermit Warbler, head 533. Oven-bird, head . 534. Grinnell Water-Thrush 535. Maegillivray Warbler, head 536. Western Yellow-throat, head 537. Long-tailed Chat 538. Wilson Warbler, head . 539. Canadian Warbler, head 540. Redstart, head 541. Pipit .... 542. Pipit, foot . 543. Sprague Pipit, foot 544o Water Ouzel 545. Sag-e Thrasher 546. Brown Thrasher, head 547. California Thrasher, bill 548. Mockingbird, head 549. Catbird, head 550. Cactus Wren 551. Canyon Wren 552„ Rock Wren . 553. Western Winter Wren 554. House Wren, head 555. Long-billed Marsh Wren, head 556. Carolina Wren, head . 557. Sage Thrasher . 558. Eastern Mocker . 559. Catbird 560. Brown Thrasher . 561. Sennett Thrasher 562. Curve-billed Thrasher . 563. Palmer Thrasher . 564. Bendire Thrasher 565. Calif ornian Thrasher . 566. Leconte Thrasher 567. Crissal Thrasher . 568. Cactus Wren 569. Rock Wren . 570. Canyon Wren 571. Carolina Wren, head . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 572. Vigors Wren 573. Parkmaii Wren . 574. Western Winter Wren 575. Brown Creeper, bill 570. Brown Creeper, tail 577. Californian Creeper 578. Slender-billed Niithateli, feather 579. White-breasted Nuthatch, feather 580. White-breasted Nuthatch, head 581= Red-breasted Nuthatch, head 582. Plain Titmouse . 583. Bridled Titmouse, head 584. Chickadee, head . 585. Wren-Tit . 586. Bush-Tit . 587. Lloyd Bush-Tit . 588. Kinglet, bill 589. Golden-crowned Kinglet, head 590. Ruby-crowned Kinglet, head 591. Gnatcatcher, tail . 592. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, head 593. Plumbeous Gnatcatcher, feather 594. Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, feather 595. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 596o Plumbeous Gnatcatcher 597. Townsend Solitaire 598. Wood Thrush . 599. Robin, bill . GOO. Robin . 001. Bluebird . XXlll 447 448 449 451 451 452 453 453 453 454 456 457 457 460 461 462 463 463 464 465 465 465 465 465 466 467 469 472 472 475 INTRODUCTION. The classification, nomenclature, and numeration used in this book are those of the A. 0. IT. Check-List of Worth American Birds, except that modern scientific usage has heen followed in dropping the possessive form in the vernacular names of species, as Clarke nutcracker and Steller jay, instead of Clarke's nutcracker and Stel- ler's jay. The rulings of the nomenclature committee of the Amer- ican Ornithologists' Union have been followed, but new species upon which the committee has not yet ruled have been included in foot- notes under their proper places. In the matter of authorities, Ridgway's Manual of North Ameri- can Birds, his Hummingbird paper, and Birds of North and Middle America (Parts I. and II.) have been used at all points as standard authorities, and the substance of keys and descriptions frequently quoted. In the general treatment of species various authorities have been followed. General Characters. — These summaries of technical characters have been abridged from the generic descriptions in Parts I. and II. of Pidgway's BirdK (f North and Middle America, his monograph on the Jfumminf/hirds, and Coues's Kei/ to North American Birds. Measurements. — The measurements have been taken from the second edition of Kidgway's Manual of North American Birds, from Parts I, and II. of North and Middle America, with the centimeters converted into inches, and. in the case of sjx'cics not included in thes(; books, from the original descriptions. Nest and Kijfjs. — Descriptions of nests and eggs are taken mainly from IJendire's Life llifttoriex of North American Birdu, Uitlgway's Mamial, .s(jcond edition, The A^lk, Tlie Condor, Tlie Osprey, The Nidolof/hst, The Ornitholof/ist and Oiilof/ist, Goi^' a lUrds of Kansas, The Biolof/iral Survey Records, and from specimens in the Hendire and Ralph coHectious of the United States National Museum. xxvi INTRODUCTION Food. — Food notes have been made up mainly from Bendire's Life Histories, Fisher's Hawks and Owls of the United States, Goss's Birds of Kansas, and the records of the Biological Surve3\ Distribution. — The distributions have been compiled from the manuscript maps and reports of the Biological Survey, and the North American Fauna, (3) San Francisco Mountain, Arizona; (7) Death Valley, and (16) Mount Shasta, California; (22) Hudson Bay; (5) Idaho; (21) The Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia; and (14) The Tres Marias Islands, Mexico; The A. 0. U. Check-List of North American Birds; Belding's Land Birds of California; Bendire's Life Histories of North American Birds; Bruner's Birds of Nebraska ; Bryant's Birds and Eggs of the Farallon Islands; Cooke's Bird Mi- gration in the 3Iississippi Valley, and Birds of Colorado; Fannin's Check-List of British Columbia Birds; Goss's Birds of Kansas; Grin- nell's Birds of the Pacific Slope of Los Angeles County; Loomis's Cali- fornia Water Birds; Macoun's Catalogue of Canadian Birds; Mc- Gregor's Pacific Coast Avifauna; and Silloway's Summer Birds of Flathead Lake, Montana; together with local lists in The Auk, The Bulletin of the 'Cooper Ornithological Club, The Condor, and The Osprey. Illustrations. — The new heads and full figures of birds are by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, the outlines by Miss Franceska Weiser, the old material from drawings of Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Ernest Thomp- son Seton, Robert Ridgway, John L. Ridgway, and Frank Bond, published previously by the Smithsonian Institution, the Biological Survey, The Auk, The Osprey, and Houghton, IMifflin & Company in Birds of Village and Field and A-Birding on a Bronco. COLLECTING AND PREPARING BIRDS, NESTS, AND EGGS. By Vernon Bailey. Collecting Birds. — Our present knowledge of birds and their classification has come from a study of specimens, of the dead bird in the flesh, of crops and stomachs, stuffed skins, and skeletons ; and without this foundation the study of birds would not have its deep interest and meaning nor its practical bearing on the economy of our lives. Even our enjoyment of the birds in life, their beauty, song, and friendship, would be far less than it is without the un- derlying knowledge of their life history, the place they fill, and their importance to us. INTRODUCTION xxvii Naturalist collectors are far from being the ruthless destroyers of life they are often supposed to be. It is, indeed, those who collect the birds, study them most deeply, and know them best, who are doing the most for their protection. Most ornithologists have begun their study of birds by making private collections, and have turned the knowledge thus gained to the best good of the birds, while their collections have finally gone to museums, where they could benefit the greatest number of students. In most museums, it is true, there are large collections of bird skins, often hundreds of specimens of a single species, showing every shade of variation due to age, sex, season, moult, and wear of plumage, and endless geographic variation over a wide range of country ; but to many of those who have the best chance to study the birds ia life these collections are inaccessible. There are still unknown, rare, and little known species of birds that must be obtained before our knowledge of our own species can be approximately complete and our system of classification firmly established. But the more immediate and pressing question before the young ornithologist is how to identify the obscure species and the females and young of better known birds. In many cases the bird must be shot to be identified, and not infrequently it must be sent to some large museum collection for comparison for satisfactory determination. Collecting, therefore, has not only a legitimate but fundamental place in ornitholog}- as a scientific study. Measurements. — It should be borne in mind that measurements are not infallible, and even Avhere the maximum and minimum of a series are given, still larger or smaller specimens may be found. In many cases measurements are useless in determining characters, but in others they are the all important differences between species and subspecies. The total length is the most variable measurement, and when taken from a skin instead of a bird in the flesh is only intended to give a general idea of the size of the bird. In quoting Mr. Kidgway's measurements throughout this book tlie word 'about' has been omitted from liis lengtlis, as it applies to all length measurements. Lengtlis are taken from the birds in the flesli, if not specifically stated to be from skins. All measurements in the book are in inches. AVing, tail, bill, and tarsus measurements are the important ones in most species, especially so beca\\se they can- be taken from the dry skin as well as from the fresh specimens. iVIea- surementssliould l)e taken in the following manner: — Liitijih. — From tip of bill to tip of tail. To get this lay the xxviii INTRODUCTION bird on its back ou a rule or. tape-measure, with neck and body straiglit. Wing. — From the front of the bend of the wrist joint of the wing to the tip of the longest feather. This can be taken with either tape or dividers. Tail. — From the extreme base of the tail to its tip. To get this exactly place one point of the dividers at the base of the tail be- tween the two middle tail feathers, and the other point of the dividers at the tip of the tail. Bill. — From edge of feathers on top of bill to tip of bill. When it would be necessary to part the feathers to reach the base of the bill the expression ' exposed culmen ' is used for the mea- sui'eraent. Tarsus. — From heel joint to angle !^^ of toe with tarsus. If this is difficult to determine, put the dividers on the outside and bend the toes. Middle toe. — From angle of tarsus and toes to base of claw, the length of the claw not being taken unless specified. Such measurements as length of toes, depth of bill at base, at nostril, etc., and relative lengths of certain feathers and spots and markings can usually be taken most accurately and conveniently with dividers. Making bird skins. — For making bird skins a few simple tools and materials are needed, — two sizes of scalpels or slender-bladed knives for skinning, a pair of stout, sharp scissors, and a pair of forceps, some powdered arsenic and corn-meal, cotton (for large species tow), a round-pointed needle, thread, and labels. The English sparrow is a good bird to begin with and practice on until skins can be made that are worth keeping, an end not attained without patient and painstaking effort. Having shot a bird, examine it for bloody or soiled spots, and sprinkle any that are found with corn -meal or fine sand, and plug the throat with cotton to keep any blood or liquids from coming out and soiling the feathers. If an eye is broken remove it with the forceps, and fill the orifice with cotton and corn-meal, to prevent the fluids from soiling the feathers of the head. To keep the bird from injury until you can skin it, make a paper cornucopia, and after smoothing the feathers drop the bird in bill first ; then fold together the gaping edges of the cornucopia, and your bird will carry safely in your game-bag or hunting-coat pocket. INTRODUCTION xxix Skinning. — Place the bird on its back Avitli its bill to your left, and part the feathers along the breast and belly. In most species a strip of naked skin will appear. Holding the feathers back with the thumb and finger of the left hand, cut with a down stroke of the scalpel just through the skin from about the middle of the sternum back to the vent. Catch the edge of the skin at one side, and with the end of the scalpel handle or your fingers work it back from the body until the knee-joint of the leg appears, sprinkling in plenty of corn-meal as you go to absorb blood and juices and keep your fingers dry and the feathers from sticking. Cut the bone at the knee-joint with scissors or knife, and draw it up out of the flesh, which can be cut off nearer the heel and left fast to the carcass. Loosen the skin farther back, then treat the other side in the same manner, fre- quently using corn-meal. Then turn the bird's bill from you, and cut across below the tail to the bone, and either unjoint or snip the bone with the scissors just in front of the base of the quills, keeping the forefinger of the left hand at a point opposite on the outside as a guide to prevent cut- ting the skin, and work the skin up over the rump. At this point a small hook, suspended in front and hooked into the bird's rump, will help the beginner, but he will soon learn to hold up the body between the tips of the first two fingers of the left hand, using the thumb and third or little finger of the same hand to draw down the skin as he cuts with the scalpel in the right. Work the skin from the edges, being careful not to stretch it. As the wings are reached draw them back out of the skin to near the second joint, break the first bone in the middle and remove tlie flesh. Keep the body well sprinkled with meal, and work the skin carefully down over the neck to the head until the ears appear, picking them out rather than cutting them off ; then working the skin along mainly with the finger nails over the eyes (cutting the transparent membrane without inj\iry to the lids), and carrying it down to the base of the bill. Next remove the ej'cs and cut off the base and lower part of the skull, which can be done so as to leave brains, tongue, and fleshy part of mouth attached to the neck, and the skull and bill clean and free attached to the skin. If any bits of flesh or fat have been left on the skin, remove tlieni. and then dust dry arsenic over the inside of the skill, till the eye sockets with pellets of cotton, and reverse the skin by pushing tlie bill carefully back through the neck. Willi the beginner the skin will become dry before it is ready to be turned l>aek, and will need moistening, l)ut after some practice the XXX INTRODUCTION whole process of skinning should take only from two to four min- utes. As soon as tlie skin is turned back, the feathers should be smoothed and arranged, the eyelids adjusted, and the edges of the opening of the skin laid together before it is put down. Stuffing. — For the sparrow, take a short thick piece of cotton — tow for large birds — that will make a form the size of the body that has been removed from the skin, and press it firmly together with the fibers all one way. To fill the skull and make a firm neck, pinch one end of the cotton flat and double it over twice, holding it firmly after each time between the thumb and finger of the left hand. Then catch the hard compact point of cotton between the forceps in a position to hold it securely and push it into the bird skin, forcing the point up through the neck and base of the skull, catching it again with the left thumb and finger in the mouth of the bird. Loosen and draw out the forceps, but hold the cotton in the mouth until the skin is drawn back and adjusted over the stufling, and superfluous bits, of cotton removed or tucked in. Then draw together the edges of the skin and catch with a couple of stitches. When the wings have been put in place under the feathers at the sides, and the feathers properly arranged and smoothed, the skin is ready to be labeled and wrapped in a thin film of cotton. Then the bill can be tied shut with a thread and the bird laid away to dry. A beginner's skins are often greatly distorted, and only practice can teach the correct amount of cotton to use and its proper form and proportions. The best way is to keep in mind the size and form of the bird's body, and try to reproduce them. Be careful not to make bulging or weak necks. Leave each skin straight and symmetrical when put away to dry, and each feather back in its original place. Laheling. — Skins should be fully labeled with locality, date, sex, number, and collector's name, while such additional data as color of eyes, bill, feet, or any parts that fade, notes on breeding or locality where taken, stomach contents, etc., can be placed on the back of the label or kept in a catalogue under the number of each specimen. ^-n\ Collection of Vernon Bailey. vol Washingto'n, D. C.^ ^Vc^ >4- 190 2 V. B. Sexing. — To determine the sex, cut through the side of the ab- dominal wall, push away the intestines, and close against the small INTRODUCTION xxxi of the back, if the bird is a male, you will see the two oval, usually light colored testes, — in the breeding season large and conspicuous, at other seasons small, and, in immature specimens, often difficult to find. If the bird is a female, in place of the two oval bodies there will be the ovary, a mass of spherical ovules, large or small ac- cording to the season, and often obscure in immature specimens. The male sign is Mars' arrow {$), the female, Venus' mirror (9). Collecting and preserving eggs. — Egg collecting is justifiable only when the collector s earnestness of purpose warrants the sacrifice of happy bird homes, and no amount of pains and care should be spared to make each set a permanent and valuable illustration of the life history of the species. So far as possible only complete sets of fresh eggs should be taken. An incomplete set is of sec- ondary importance, and eggs in which incubation is advanced are not worth troubling with unless very rare. The first step is to identify the nest positively, which, in cases of rare species, can often be done only by collecting one or both of the birds. Eggs are worse than worthless if there is any question of their identity. The next step should be to photograph the nest from at least two points, one to show general setting and one at closer range to give detail of form and structure. Then notes should be made on the position, structure, and materials of the nest, the actions of the old birds, and the manner of identification, etc. When possible the nest should also be collected. Each Qgg shoidd be wrapped in cotton and each set packed snugly in a wooden box with plenty of cotton for carrying home. The tools necessary for blowing eggs are a slender blowpipe and two drills, large and small, which can be bought of any dealer in naturalist's supplies. For drilling, hold the egg lightly between the thumb and two fingers of the left liand, and placing the sharp point of the drill against the side twirl it evenly with a slight pressure until it sinks into the shell, grinding out a smooth round hole which points down- ward, fnmi the size of a pin-head in a fresh sparrow's egg to an eighth of an inch in diameter in a larger or j^artly incubated egg. In much incul)ated eggs it is often necessary to make a much larger opening. A fine stream of air shoidd be forced into the egg without touching the blowpipe to the opening, and the contents gently forced out. When the shell is empty, witli mouth full of water blow a stream into it and rinse out thoroughly, afterwards blowinir all the water out and laying carefully away to dry. xxxii INTRODUCTION Incubated eggs, though almost at the point of hatching, are made by experts into nearly perfect specimens. Following their methods, drill the hole and then coat the shell with flexible collodion. After removing a small part of the fluid, if the egg is small, insert a solution of pepsin or of chlorinated soda, — Labarraque's solution, — and let the egg stand for a few hours, after which blow out the softened portion of the contents. Add more of the solution, and let the eggs stand again, keeping on until you have emptied the shell. Large eggs may be treated with a solution of caustic potash, care being necessary not to allow the alkali to touch the shell. To prevent accident it is well to have a basin of water near in which to immerse the egg if necessary. The collodion is removed after the completion of the work by the use of ether. Each set of eggs and each nest should be kept in a box, with a label something like the following, from the Bendire and Ralph collection in the National Museum : — A. 0. U. No. Scientific name, Private No. Common name, Collector, Locality, Date, No. of Eggs in Set, Identification, Incubation, Nest : Diameter, Depth,. Composed of Location,. Of whom and when received,. Nests should be kept in boxes to fit their size. Great care should be taken to protect them from moths and other destructive INTRODUCTION xxxiii iDsects, as not only wool but hair and all other animal substances will be eaten and the nests ruined if they are not well looked after. The best protection for a r^est is a spray of a solution of corrosive sub- limate, which can be used in a common atomizer, — with a warning red label, bearing the word ' Poison.' NOTE-TAKING, NOTE-BOOKS, AND JOURNALS. The value of collections is increased many fold by the fleld-notes which accompany the specimens, and the bird lover who does not collect may add most valuable material to our meagre knowledge of the life histories of our birds. A compact, statistical journal may be made, as Mr. Chapman i and Mr. Felger^ suggest by means of a - roll or time book,' or any sheets ruled in squares in pad form and punched along the sides to fasten into a cardboard cover. The squares should be used for daily records, the top or top and margin being used for headings, such as locality, zone, zonal plants and trees, slope exposure, temperature, condition of weather, direction and force of wind, amount of rainfall or snowfall, advance of vegetation', new insects abroad, indications of mating and of nest-building, number of nests found with eggs and with nestlings, number of young on the wing, condition of plumage, stage of moult, food, food habits, stomach contents of specimens taken, time spent in field, number of birds seen in tlocks, number seen in migration flights. For more detailed life history notes, card catalogues, with family, generic, and specific divisions, are popular with many ornithologists. A convenient form of field journal is a pad punched at the sides to fit into a stiff cover, each sheet to be devoted to a species so that the sheets can be slipped out and arranged by species, alphabeti- cally. On the return from the field these can l)e dropped into bo.x manuscript trays and arranged by the check-list. LIFE ZONES. The physical geographies have long taught the division of the earth into life zones, from the arctic to the tn)i>i(;il regions, with the corresponding vertical divi.'^ions from the tropical base of ecjua- torial mountains to tlieir snow-clad arctic summits, and naturalists Iiavc l(.ng since worked out the distribution of animals and plants ' //miilhnt/L iif /Unls of h'dsti-ni yintli America, pp. '2()-'J'_'. - " Vhiu for K.'CDnliiiK Field Notes," T/u- Auk; xix. 1S'.»-ll)3. xxxiv INTRODUCTION along these lines in Europe and eastern North America. But it is only within recent years that the Biological Survey carried on by the government has studied the old familiar generalizations in the western states in detail and mapped the life zones of the United States as a whole. The generally accepted theory that the distribution of mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and plants depends on temperature has been demonstrated by Dr. Merriam as a physical law that "the northward distribution of terrestrial animals and plants is governed by the sum of the positive temperatures for the entire season of growth and reproduction, and that the southward distribution is governed by the mean temperature of a brief period during the hottest part of the year."i With this as the working basis he has divided the United States into three parts, having the northern (Boreal), south- ern (Austral), and intermediate (Transition) climates and flora and fauna. By subdivision seven zones are made, known as Alpine, Hudsonian, Canadian, Transition, Upper Sonoran, Lower Sonoran^ and Tropical. East of the hundredth meridian, which, broadly speaking, is the dividing line between the eastern or humid and western or arid sections, the Austral zone is known as Austral rather than Sonoran, and divided into Alleghanian, Carolinian, and Austroriparian Faunas. The Alpine Zone lies above the limit of trees, and is characterized by dwarf shrubs and plants, the polar bear, arctic fox, reindeer, the snow bunting, snow^y owl, ptarmigan, pipit, and leucosticte. The Hudsonian Zone is marked by dwarfed timber along "the northern or higher parts of the great transcontinental coniferous forest, . . . stretching from Labrador to Alaska. It is inhabited by the wolverine, woodland caribou, moose, great northern shrike, pine bullfinch, and wiiite-winged crossbill."- On Mt. Shasta its only trees are the black alpine hemlock and white-barked pine, its character- istic mammal is the cony {Ochotona), and its characteristic bird the Clarke crow. It is also frequented by the sooty grouse, western goshawk, Williamson sapsucker, rufous hummingbird, Oregon jay, pine siskin, junco, Audubon and hermit warblers, creeper, red- breasted nuthatch, kinglets, and solitaire.^ 1 Merriam's " Laws of Temperature Control of the Geographic Distribution of Ter- restrial Animals and Plants," National Geographic Magazine, vi. 229-238. - Merriam, C. Hart, "Life Zones and Crop Zones of the United States," Bull. No. 10, Biological Survey ; " Geographic Distribution of Animals and Plants in North America," YearbooJ; of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1894. 3 Merriam, C. Hart, North American Fauna, No. 10, " Result of a Biological Survey -^"^C"'^ Ta 4s S//V/ Q I A O/y ■^4 ^ 4/^ ^vo _/ N G ^•r south'! ^-A^O-TA NEBRASKA ^H Upper So J'/ic ilutlid jiarts of the Sonoi (III Xoiiff cast u/t/ii. (.rml riditi.i iiidicati Hit- v:cecial Reference to the Munmialiu," Pun: Biol. Soc. Wash. vii. April, IS'JJ, 1-G4. xxxvi INTRODUCTION Birds are naturally less restricted to zoues than mammals and plants, find in the held the question of correlating them to zones is rendered difficult by the modifying conditions which complicate the zones themselves. Local conditions are constantly being met which produce a change of temperature within a zone, resulting in the intrusion of a tongue of a higher or lower zone. Forest fires make an artificial change in zones, a Canadian fir forest sometimes being replaced by Transition zone chaparral. Natural modifying conditions are many, and not always so patent. Slope exposure is the most important. If a ridge runs north and south, its southwest- ern slope, which receives the hot afternoon sun, will have, we may say, a Transition zone flora and fauna, while its cold northeast slope will have a Canadian zone flora and fauna. A cold mountain stream, on the other hand, will bring down the flora and fauna of one or two higher zones; and Canadian and even Hudsonian plants and trees bordering such a stream may thrive on its banks in the Transition zone. So many other modifying conditions are found that the determi- nation of zones is a complex matter, and must be based largely on the study of trees and shrubs, as they are the most stable part of the life of a region. In relating the flora to the fauna the greatest care should be taken with the bird life, as a bird can at will change his zone by a few hours' travel. Zonal notes should always be accom- panied by dates, as breeding zones alone are of much significance, birds wandering widely after tlie breeding season. The Lewis woodpecker is a striking example of this, for, while breeding in Transition zone, after the breeding season it wanders up into Cana- dian and down even into Lower Sonoran zone in its search for mast. Most mountain birds that do not migrate to the south change their zones in this way, Canadian zone birds being found in Upper and Lower Sonoran zones in fall and winter. MIGRATION. Many birds wander widely east and west after the breeding sea- son, and some even go north for a short distance. With many mountain birds the Avandering movements after the breeding season amount to a vertical migration. Birds, like the grouse and quail and certain species of juncos, that make only a vertical migration merely come down from the snow-covered mountains into the warm valleys. A number of hummingbirds perform vertical migrations INTRODUCTION xxxvii between their first and second broods, following the seasons of flowers from the valleys where they raise their first broods, to the mountain parks, where they rear a second family, retreating rapidly down the mountain as soon as the frosts kill the flowers. Among land birds a north and south migration is not as vital in the west as the east, especially for the seed-eaters, for the lowland winters are so mild that the food supply is not as extensively de- stroyed as in the east, and accordingly a much larger number of birds winter in the valleys of the western states than in the eastern. But while the western north and south migratory movement is less striking, the absence of winter birds less felt than in the east, the vertical migrations, from the superior height of the mountains and the preponderance of the mountain ranges, assume great impor- tance; and accordingly, while the total winter population may be large, the species in a locality will be markedly different in summer and winter. Careful notes should be taken on all these phases of the migratory movements to ascertain the exact migratory habits of each species of bird, and the character of the bird population in every season. As the mildness of climate which lessens the impulse to south- ward migration in the western land birds does not affect the water birds breeding in the arctic regions, the southward migration is found in full force along the coast. At suitable points, like Mon- terey, vast multitudes of birds may be seen passing on their way from the arctic regions to the southern seas, and migration waves and other phenomena studied to the best advantage. INIr. Loomis's observations at Monterey have thrown a great deal of light on this most interesting subject, and demonstrated the richness of the field for future investigations. ECONOMIC ORNITHOLOGY. The question of the food of birds assumes peculiar importance in the west from the extent of the fruit industry, and the consequent magnitude of the depredations of insect and rodent pests. Birds if left to themselves keep down the insect life, and the question is in each case if the harm a bird does in eating fruit in June equals the good he does the rest of the year in eating scale insects and otlier pe.sts that take off tlie profits of fruit growing. As it is a matter of statistics, observers should make careful field notes on what birds are actually seen eating, and especially eareful records of the stom xxxviii INTRODUCTION acli contents of birds shot. When these cannot be determined with- out microscopes and collections of insects and seeds for comparison, the stomachs should be sent for examination to Professor F. E. L. Beal, of the Biological Survey, Department of Agriculture, Wash- ington, D. C.i In general it may be said that the thousands of stomachs which have already been examined have shown that birds are divided into three classes, — 1. Those that are injurious at all times, as the three accipitrine hawks, which live mainly on small birds, game, and poultry. 2. Those that are injurious part of the year and beneficial the rest of the time^ such as blackbirds that come in hordes in the fall and destroy the crops, but which when scattered out over the coun- try at other times of the year do an immense amount of good by de- stroying injurious insects. 3. Those that are beneficial at all times, as many hawks and owls and a large number of insectivorous and weed-seed-eating birds. As Professor Beal says: "If crows or blackbirds arc seen in num- bers about cornfields, or if woodpeckers are noticed at work in an orchard, it is perhaps not surprising that they are accused of doing- harm. Careful investigation, however, often shows that they are actually destroying noxious insects ; and also that even those which do harm at one season may compensate for it by eating noxious species at another. Insects are eaten at all times by the majority of land birds, and during the breeding season most kinds subsist largely and rear their young exclusively on this food. When insects are unusually plentiful, they are eaten by many birds which do not ordinarily touch them. Even birds of prey resort to this diet, and when insects are more easily obtained than otlier fare, the smaller hawks and owls live on them almost entirely. This was well illus- trated during the recent plague of Rocky IMountain locusts in the western states, when it was found that locusts were eaten by nearly every bird in the region, and that they formed almost the entire food of a large majority of the species.""-^ 1 Tlie Survey will furnish, on application, blank schedules for recording data, tags for numbering the stomachs, and franked envelopes for mailing. When collected, the stomachs (crops and gizzards) should be placed in alcohol or formalin for at least a week. Before forwarding to the department, they should be taken from the fluid, spread out on a newspaper, and dried for several hours, then placed in a baking powder can or cigar box, wrapped with a franked envelope on the outside, and mailed. The collector will be reimbursed for the outlay for alcohol, and will receive five cents apiece for a limited number of stomachs of certain species. - Beal, F. E. L., " Some Common Birds in their Relation to Agriculture," Farmer^s Bulletbi, No. 54, U. S. Department of Agriculture. INTRODUCTION xxxix As birds are the check nature has put upon insect life, the pro- blem is a grave one. How shall we profit by the good offices of the l)irds, and prevent the injury they in turn are capable of doing to our crops? In the east Professor Beal lias found that birds as a rule prefer wild fruit to cultivated, and are drawn away from the orchard and garden by the cultivation of wild fruit-bearing bushes. In parts of the west the mulberry and elder and pepper are favorite bird foods, and might be useful for such purposes. The question is a large one, however, and can only be settled by patient study and investiga- tion on the part of earnest bird students. BIRD PROTECTION. By T. S. Palmer. Laws for the protection of birds are necessary even in sparsely settled regions. No place, however remote, is beyond the reach of the market hunter, provided a demand for game or feathers for millinery purposes exists, and prices are sufficient to warrant capture of the birds. Game birds have been shipped by thousands from the states beyond the Missouri River ; pelicans, terns, and gulls have been decimated along the gulf coast of Texas; and grebes have been slaughtered on their breeding grounds on distant lakes in the interior of Oregon, — all to supply eastern markets. To meet such conditions every western state and territory now has its game law; but few of these laws protect all the birds within the state, and several of tliem are capable of being improved and made much more effective. From the legislative standpoint birds may be divided into three categories : (1) Game birds, such as quail and ducks, which are luinted at stated seasons for food or sport. (2) Non-game birds, sucli as thrushes and gulls, which are valuable as insect destroyers or scavengers, and hence are protected throughout the year. (3) Inju- rious species, such as the English sparrow and the great horned owl. which are given no protection. Under the definition framed by the Committee on Protection of Birds of the American Orni- thologists' Union, game birds are restricted to four or five well marked groups: the Anatida', comjirising ducks, geese, and swans; the Itallida". including rails, coots, and gallinules ; the Limicola*, or shore birds in i:<'ii('ral ; the (tallina-, including ([uails, plieasants, grouse, and wild turkeys; and (in sonu' states) the Columba', in- cludini: wild pigeons and doves. All other birds are classed as xl INTRODUCTION non-game birds, and the few injurious species are mentioned by name. Such a division provides for all the birds, leaves no ambigu- ity as to which may be killed as game, and defines each group in the simplest and most satisfactory manner. A game law framed on this basis has been adopted with excellent results in some states, but in the west is still an ideal toward whiqli to work rather than an accomplished fact. California, Colorado, and Nebraska have excellent laws for game birds, but they do not provide equally well for insectivorous species. Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming have comprehensive statutes for non-game birds, but do not afford complete protection to all their game birds. O ante Birds. — Experience has shown that a modern game law must do much more than merely prohibit the killing of certain spe- cies at stated times. It must regulate methods of hunting, restrict shipment and sale, and also prescribe means for carrying its pro- visions into execution. It should contain the declaration that all wild birds and animals are the property of the state. This fact, based on the decisions of the highest courts, is now generally ac- cepted, but it is well to have it incorporated in the law, as is the case in the game laws of Colorado, Texas, and other states. Next in importance is a comprehensive definition of game birds like that given above. Another important point not fully appreciated is that a law which prohibits killing certain species is much less effective and permanent than one which simply permits, by declaring that it shall be unlawful to kill or have in possession ' any birds except as hereinafter provided.' This simple statement renders the law to a certain extent automatic, since all birds will be protected until pro- vided with an open season. Changes in season, the bane of game legislation, cannot be made so readily without attracting attention, and if, as often happens, a proposed change in season fails of enact- ment, the species is left with complete protection instead of being without protection as under the old method. Little need be said as to seasons except that they should conform as nearly as possible to those of adjoining states. With improved guns, smokeless powder, and other modern appliances for himting, no state can afford to maintain an open season from the time the birds are mature until they begin to breed the following year, for no species can withstand such an ordeal and not be locally exterminated in a few years. Open seasons are constantly growing shorter, and as they undergo change should be shifted to correspond more and more closely with those of other states. Above all, spring shooting should be abolished, and INTRODUCTION xli the close season begin as near the first of January as possible. Big- guns are very properly made illegal, and an unsuccessful attempt was recently made in California to prevent the use of magazine or ' pump guns,' on the ground that they were too destructive. The same might be said of the air gun or parlor rifle, which in the hands of the reckless small boy is not only an effective but a dan- gerous weapon of destruction. Night hunting in all its forms, bait- ing, pursuing game with launches or even sailboats, are condemned by true sportsmen, and should all be prohibited. Trapping and netting should likewise be made illegal, but with some provision for taking a reasonable number of birds for propagation under the super- vision of competent state ofl^icers. Kestrictions on the trade are becoming more general and more necessary every year. Prohibition of shipment out of the state is effective if it can be enforced, and it can be made easier to enforce if transportation of all game for market purposes is prohibited, as is done in Iowa and Texas, but with some provision for carrying a limited amount of game for private pur- poses. Sale is the keynote to the situation, and if it can be pro- hibited the question of protection will be greatly simplified. It is now prohibited in a number of states, and probably the day is not far distant when most if not all game birds will be withdrawn from sale. Non-game Birds. — Even more important than laws for the pro- tection of game birds (because applying to a much larger number of species) are the statutes for the preservation of birds which are not game, and which apply to ' song,' 'insectivorous,' and ' jilume' birds. In order to accomplish their purpose they must be compre- hensive, and as already stated they should cover all birds except game birds and a few injurious species mentioned by name. If made applicable to certain species, or even to song, insectivorous, or plume birds, some species are sure to be omitted, and often these will be the very ones most in need of protection. Not only killing, but also nest robbing, trapping, possession, shipment, and sale should be prolnbited. The traffic in cage birds, unless checked by strict regulations, may sometimes decimate certain species, ]mrticu- larly those distinguished for their vocal powers or bright colors. A provision prohibiting possession of plumage or ' any part of a bird ' is necessary to jirevent sale of birds for millinery purposes, and overcome the objection wlu'eh is sometimes raised tliat ]irohibitions against the killing and i^os.session of a bird do not ai>ply to its plumage or to one of its wings when used as a liat decoration. xlii INTRODUCTION On the other hand, provision must be made for collecting birds for scientific purj^oses, both for educational institutions and for private collections, and also for keeping birds in captivity for study or as pets. These requirements can readily be met by having per- mits issued under the supervision of some state officer to properly accredited collectors and students. In case it is desirable to allow certain birds to be kept in captivity, sale and shipment out of the state should be prohibited in order to avoid abuse of the privilege and prevent wholesale bird-trapping for market, i Injurious Species. — In every state there are a few injurious spe- cies from which protection should be withdrawn. In general these species comprise the English sparrow, great horned owl, goshawk, duck hawk, sharp-shinned hawk. Cooper haw^k, crow, linnet or house finch, and occasionally some of the blackbirds. Sweeping provisions excluding hawks and owls from protection should be carefully avoided, as most of the species are beneficial, and a clause covering birds of prey in general without naming the injurious species will result chiefly in the destruction of those which are bene- ficial. It is useless to attempt anything more by legislation than simple removal of protection. No means have yet been devised by wiiich an injurious species can be legislated out of existence, and the various methods which have been advocated have almost uniformly resulted in failure. Bounties for birds and eggs have little effect except to drain the state or county treasury. The Colorado hawk bounty, which was in force from 1877 to 1885, seems to have re- sulted chiefly in the diminution of the sparrow hawk, one of the most useful birds in destroying grasshoppers. The Utah bounty on English sparrows, in force since 1888, has not exterminated the spar- row in the state, and the provision of 1896, offering five cents per dozen for eggs, must have resulted disastrously to the native birds, for a year or two after it went into effect reports showed that in Weber County alone payments had been made on 990 dozen (nearly 12,000) eggs, while during the same period only 640 sparrows had been presented for bounty. The sparrow bounties in Illinois and Michigan and the hawk and owl bounty in Pennsylvania all failed to accomplish their objects, although each cost the state from §50,000 to S100,000. The expense attending bounty legislation can be readily illustrated by the records of payments for coyotes and 1 The bill prepared by the Committee on Protection of Birds of the American Orni- thologists' Union covers all of these points. See " Legislation for the Protection of Birds other than Game Birds," Bulletin No. 12, Biological Survey, U. S. Dept. Agricul- ture, pp. 56-60, 1902. INTRODUCTION xliii wolves in Wyoming, Montana, and California. The coj^ote bounty law in California remained in force only four j^ears, but actually cost the state §187,485, while the claims filed aggregated about $400,000.1 In the west bounties on birds are now paid only in Utah and Oregon, and in the latter state are restricted to cormorants and sheldrakes. Enforcement. — The enforcement of game laws depends largely on public sentiment. Although most of the western states have game wardens, the laws are not enforced as they should be. Better results are attained where local wardens are under the authority of a state officer or state board. Unfortunately the liberal appropriations neces- sary to meet the expenses incident to warden service are not often available, but game protection might be made almost self-support- ing if the money derived from licenses, fines, sale of contraband game, and similar sources, were all turned into a state game pro- tection fund instead of going into several different funds, no one of which is available for work of this kind. A potent influence in bird protection is the federal law popular!}' known as the Lacey Act, which went into effect on Maj' 25, 1900. Under this act interstate commerce in birds killed in violation of l(K-al laws is prohibited, and through cooperation between federal and state authorities statutes which were formerly dead letters are now being enforced. The chief value of the law, however, lies in the interest in protection which it has aroused throughout the coun- try even among persons who formerly gave the subject no thought. T.argely through its influence game protection is now being estab- lished on broader lines, rapid progress is being made in legislation, and the laws are better observed than ever befon-. LOCAL LISTS. LLST OF BIRDS IN THE VICINITY OF PORTLAND. OREGON. By a. W. Anthony. The country embraced in this list is about ten S(|uare miles in extent. The region between llie city of Portland and the Columbia River perhai)s furnishes most of the sju'cies, and is farming land diversilied ])y forest land, brush patches, and low wet meadows. wliicli in winter are ponds upon whicii are I'ound all of our species ' Sec I'ahiipr, " Extcriniiiiitioii of Noxious Anini.ils liy Bounties," Yidiliintk Dept. Agr.j'or 18%, pp. 55-G8. xliv INTRODUCTION • of waterfowl. The high hills west of the city are less prolific. The heavy forest is cleared in places, offering- homes for such species as white-crowned sparrows, juncos, and wrens, while the woodpeckers and forest-loving species dwell in the undisturbed parts of the region, which is as wild as a hundred years ago. Here also is found the russet-backed thrush nesting in the thickets and deep ravines, Colymhus nigricollis californicus : Eared Grebe. — Rather common on the ponds along- the Columbia. Podilymbus podiceps : Pied-billed Grebe. — Common with the eared grebe. Gavia imher : Loon. — Seen only as a migrant. Larus glaiicescens : Glaucous-wing-ed Gull. — Five species of g-ull are seen along the river during' the winter, but the glaucous-winged is the com- monest. Larus argentatus : Herring- Gull. Larus californicus : California Gull. Larus delawarensis : Ring--billed Gull. Larus brachyrhynchus : Shoi-t-billed Gull ('?). Phalacrocorax dilophus cincinatus : White-crested Cormorant. — In the winter a species is found on the river about Portland, which is probably the white-crested, but as no specimens have been taken I am in doubt about it. Merganser serrator : Red-breasted Merganser. — A common winter visitor. Lophodytes cucullatus : Hooded Merganser. — A winter visitant, less com- mon than the red-breasted. Anas boschas : Mallard. — Very common. Chaulelasnms streperus : Gadwall. — The gadwall and the baldpate are about equally common, but less so than most of the ducks found. Mareca americana : Baldpate. Spatula clypeata : Shoveller. — Common during fall and wintero Dajila acuta : Pintail. — Common during fall and winter. Aix sponsa : Wood Duck. — Common summer resident. A few winter about Portland. Aythya americana : Redhead. — Common in fall and winter. Aythya vallisneria : Canvas-back. — Common in fall and winter. Chen hyperborea : Lesser Snow Goose. — One or more species of snow geese are common. During mild winters all the ducks and geese are apt to winter about Portland, but a hard season drives them south. Anser albifrons gambeli : White-fronted Goose. — Common migrant. Branta canadensis minima : Cackling Goose. — Two or more races of canadensis are common, but the only species I have taken is the cack- ling goose. Olor columbiaiius : Whistling Swan. — Not uncommon migrant and winter resident. Ardea herodias : Great Blue Heron. — Common in summer ; a few winter. Ardea virescens : Green Heron. — A few herons seen, probably of this species. Grus canadensis : Little Brown Crane. — Common fall migrant, but very rare in spring. Rallus virginianus : Virginia Rail. — Like the sora, more or less common, nesting in wet bottoms. Porzana Carolina : Sora. Fulica ameripana ' Coot. — Not very abundant ; nests. INTRODUCTION xlv Tringa minutilla : Least Sandpiper. — Abundant for a few days during- migration. Tringa alpina pacijica : Red-backed Sandpiper. — Mig-rant ; less common than the least or western sandpipers. Ereunetes occidentalis : Western Sandpiper. — Abundant during- migration for a few days. Totanus melanoleucus : Greater Yellow-leg's. — Migrant ; not uncommon. Symphemia semipalmata inornata : Western Willet. — Kather rare mi- grant. j^gialitis vocifera : Killdeer. — (^ommon summer resident. Oreortyx pictus : Mountain Partridge. — Conmion resident. Dendragapus obscurus ful iginosus : Sooty Grouse. — Common resident. Columha fasciata : Band-tailed Pig-eon. — Not uncommon in suitable local- ities, but rare near Portland. Zenaiclura macroiira : Mourning- Dove. — Common summer resident. Cathartes aura : Turkey Vulture. — Common summer resident. Circus hudsonius : Marsh Hawk. — Rnre. Accipiter velox : Sharp-shinned Hawk. — Common, especially during- mi- grations. Accipiter cooperii : Cooper Hawk. — Not common, Buteo borealis caluriis : Western Red-tail. — Common. Haliceetus leucocephalus : Bald Eag-le. — Seen at times along- the river. Falco peregrinus anatum : Duck Hawk. — Seen only once or twice. Falco columbarius : Pigeon Hawk. Falco columbarius suckleyi : Black Merlin. — The pig-eon hawk and the black merlin are, perhaps, equally common ; more common during- fall and winter. Megascops asio kennicottii : Kennicott Screech Owl. — Quite common among- the oaks along- the river. Bubo virginianus saturatus : Dnsky Horned Owl. — Not uncommon in heavy timber. Nyctea nyctea : Snowy Owl. — A few have been taken near Portland in winter. (wlaucidinm gnoma califoruicum : California Pygmy Owl. — Rather com- mon ; often seen in the daytime. Coccyzus americanus occidentalis : California Cuckoo. — Rare ; a few seen in low marshy places along- the Columbia. Ceryle alcyon : Belted King-fi.sher. — Quite common along all water- courses. Dryobates villosus harrisii : Harris Woodpecker. — Common in all tim- ber. Dryobates pubescens gairdncrii : Gairdner Woodpecker. — Coimimii in all timber. Sphyrapicus ruber notkensis : Northern Red-breasted Sa])sueker. — Com- mon; more often seen in alder or dogwood than in Hr growth. Ceojj/iltius pilernirus : California Purple Finch. — Coniinou resident in valley and mouut.-iins. » A form coiiiiiKtiily ••iilU-il jnui/ithx. hut reiilly cloMer to typioiil slilliri tliiin to tin- Sierr.iii form. liv INTRODUCTION Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis : House Fliieli. — Abundant resident. Astrayalinus tristis salicamans : Willow Goldfinch. — Resident in willows and mustard patches. Aatrayalinus lisaliria : Arkansas Goldfinch. — Abundant resident. Astragulinus laicrencei : Lawrence Goldfinch. — A rare summer visitant, and erratic in its visits. Spinas pi nils : Pine Siskin. — Resident in the Santa Cruz Mountains ; mi- grant in valley. Ammodramus sandwichensis alaudinus : Western Savanna Sparrow. — Abundant fall and winter visitant in valley fields. Ammodramus sandwichensis bryanti : Bryant Marsh Sparrow. — Abundant resident in marshes about San Francisco bay. Ammodramus savannarum bimaculatiis : Western Grasshopper Sparrow. — Recorded from near San Jos^ (R. H. Beck). Ammodramus nelsoni : Nelson Sparrow. — Two records from Milpitas marshes. Pooecetes gramineus conjinis : Western Vesper Sparrow. — Recorded from near San Jos^ (McGreg-or). Chondestes grammacus strigatus : Western Lark Sparrow. — Commoner on the east than on the west side of the bay. Zonotrichia leucophrgs gambelii : Gambel Sparrow. — Abundant winter vis- itant, leaving- in April. Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli : Nuttall Sparrow. — Resident in damp coast belt ; winter visitant in Santa Clara valley. Zonotrichia coronata : Golden-crowned Sparrow. — An abundant winter visitant. Spizella socialis arizome : Western Chipping- Sparrow. — Not a very com- mon resident. Junco hyemalis thurberi : Sierra Junco. — Winter visitant ; not common. Junco hyemalis pinosus : Point Pinos Junco. — Resident in Santa Cruz Mountains, and south in humid coast belt ; commonest junco in valleys in winter. Amphisjjiza belli: Bell Sparrow. — Said to breed near Los Gates (J. Van Denburgh). Aimophila rujiceps : Rufous-crowned Sparrow. — Resident, locally, on east side of valley in sage-brush districts. Melospiza melodia heermanni : Heermann Song- Sparrow. — Resident in southernmost portions of Santa Clara valley uplands. Melospiza melodia santcecrucis : ^ Santa Cruz Song Sparrow. — Common permanent resident along streams flowing into San Francisco bay and into Pacific Ocean from Santa Cruz Mountains. Melospiza melodia pusillula} — Resident in Salicornia marshes about San Francisco bay. Melospiza melodia morphia : Rusty Song Sparrow. — Winter visitant in Santa Cruz Mountains. Melospiza lincolnii : Lincoln Sparrow. — Winter visitant. Melospiza lincolnii striata : Forbush Sparrow. — Casual winter visitant ; marshes. Passerella iliaca unalaschcensis : Townsend Sparrow. — Common winter visitant in vallej' and Santa Cruz Mountains. Pipilo maculatus megalunyx : Spurred Towhee. — Abundant resident in valley and in Santa Cruz Mountains. Pipilo jfuscus crissalis : California Towhee. — Abundant resident in valley and mountains. 1 A local race not yet acted upon by A. O. U. committee. INTRODUCTION Iv Zamelodia melanocephala : Black-lieuded (iiosbeak. — Abundant spring' and summer visitant ; departs after nesting-. Cyanospiza amrena : Lazuli Bunting-. — A common summer visitant during- nesting- season. Piranga ludovicianu : Louisiana Tanager. — Occurs in Santa Cruz Moun- tains during migrations. Progne subis hesperia : Western Martin. — Reported from Mount Hamilton range. Petrochelidon lunifrons : Cliff Swallow. — Common summer visitant. Hirundo erythrogastra : Barn Swallow. — Summer resident. Tachycineta birolor : Tree Swallow. — Abundant in spring- and summer : rare in winter. Tachycineta thalassina lepida : Northern Violet-green Swallow. — Common summer visitant. Stelgidopteryx serripennis : Rough-winged Swallow. — Reported as breed- ing at San Jos^ (J. Van Denburgh) ; migrant at Palo Alto. Ampelis cedrorum : Cedar Waxwing. — Irregular winter visitant. Phainopepla nitens : Phaiuopepla. — Recorded from near San Jos^. Lanius ludovicianus gaiiibeli : California Shrike. — Abundant resident in valley. Vireo gilvus : Warbling Vireo. — Common summer visitant. Vireo huttoni : Hutton Vireo. — Abundant resident in Santa Cruz Moun- tains ; common simmier visitant in valley. Vireo solitarius cassinii : Cassin Vireo. — Summer visitant in Santa Cruz Mountains. Helmitithophila celata lutescens : Lutescent Warbler. — Summer visitant on chaparral slopes of Santa Cruz Mountains. Dendroica testiva : Yellow Warbler. — Abundant summer resident. Dendroica auduboni : Audubon Warbler. — Abundant winter visitant. Dendroica coronata : Myrtle Warbler. — leather common winter visitant. Df^ndroica nigrescens : Black-throated Gray Warbler. — Reported from Mount Hamilton Range. Dendroica toirnsendi : Townsend Warbler. — Common winter visitant in Santa Cruz Mountains and about Monterey Bay. Dendroica occidentalis : Hermit Warbler. — Occurs rarely during migra- tions. Geothlypis tohniei : Tolmie Warbler. — Recorded from Los Gatos ; rare. Geothlypis trichas sinitosa : ^ Western Yellow-throat. — Breeds about edges of marshes of San Francisco Bay. Icteria riren.s longicauda : Long-tailed Chat. — Summer visitant along water- courses. Wilsouia pusilla pileolata : Pileolated Warbler. — Connnon in copses and willow thickets. Anthiis pensilvanirns : American Pipit. — Abundant duiing- winter months. Cinrliis /iiejrirdnus : Water C)uzel. — Permanent resident on streams in Santa ( 'rnz Mountains. Mimits pdlyglottos leiiro/jfrrus : Western M()ckingl)ird. — Occasional visitant at Stanford University. ToTostonia retlirirum : Califoniian Thrasher. — Common resident in thickets. Salpinctes obsoletus : Ivock Wn-n. — Permanent resident in eastern and .southern valley foothills, in dry. rocky places. Catherpes inexiranns pnnitidatns : Dotted Canyon Wren. — Breetls in foot- hills east of San Jose';. ' Ovcidi-ntalis ol%ui\\OT». Tliis form lias not U'cii acti-il upon In tin- A. O. I', com- niittee. It is nearer (tri-iln than mcidrnfiilis. hi INTRODUCTION Thryomanes bewickii spilurus : Vigors Wren. — Common resident. Troglodytes aedon parkmanii : Parkman Wren. — Summer visitant among live-oaks. Olbiorchilus hiemalis jiaciJicHs : Western Winter Wren. — Resident in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Cistothorus palustris jmludicola : Tule Wren. — Resident on Salicornia marshes ; breeds in seirpns patches altogether. Certhia familiar is occid entails : Calif ornian Creeper. — Resident in Santa Cruz Mountains. Sitta carolinensis aculeata : Slender-billed Nuthatch. — Resident in Santa Cruz Mountains ; oaks. Parus inornatus : Plain Titmouse. — Permanent resident among live, white, and blue oaks. Parus rafescens harlowi : ^ Barlow Chickadee. — Resident in Santa Cruz Mountains, migrating to the valleys in winter. ChaniKafasciata intermedia : '^ Wren-Tit. — Common permanent resident of Santa Cruz Mountains and of valle5^ Found usually on chaparral hills. Psaltriparus minimus californicus : California Bush-Tit. — Common perma- nent resident. Begulus satrapa olivaceus : Western Golden-crowned Kinglet. — Winter visitant in Santa Cruz Mountains. Begulus calendula : Ruby-crowned Kinglet. — Abundant winter visitant in valley and Santa Cruz Mountains. Begulus calendula grinnelli : Sitkan Kinglet. — Winter visitant to Santa Cruz Mountains and to Monterey. Polioptila carulea ohscura : Western Gnatcatcher. — Recorded from near Mount Hamilton. Myadestes townsendii : Townsend Solitaire. — Fairly common winter visitant to Santa Cruz Mountains. Hylocichla ustulata : Russet-backed Thrush. — Abundant summer visitant, arriving in April. Hylocichla guttata : Alaska Hermit Thrush. — Abundant winter visitant in valley and Santa Cruz Mountains. Hylocichla guttata slevini :^ Monterey Hermit Thrush. — Svimmer visitant in Santa Crviz Mountains, south in humid belt, along coast. Merula migratoria py-opinqua : Western Robin. — A very abundant winter visitant. Ixoreus tuevius : Varied Thrush. — Abimdant winter visitant: November till last of March. Sialia mexicana occidentalis : Western Bluebird. — Common resident. Sialia arctica : Mountain Bluebird. — Rare or casual winter visitant. LIST OF BIRDS TO BE LOOKED FOR IN THE VICINITY OF PASADENA. By Joseph Grinnell. This list inchides only svicb species as are believed to be of more or less regular occurrence within a radius of ten miles of Pasadena. 1 A form occupying the Santa Cruz Mountain district and distinguished from neglectus by absence of browii on flanks. 2 Not yet acted on by A. O. U. committee. (F. M. B.) 3 This remarkable little thrush has been recently described by Joseph Grinuell, and can be at once distinguished by its very small size and pale coloring. {The Aid; July, 1901, xviii. 258.) INTRODUCTION Ivii This area consists of * mountains ' (Sierra Madre), and ' valley ' (San Gabriel). The mountains are divided into spruce-wooded 'higher mountains,' such as Wilson's Peak and Mt. Lowe, and brush-cov- ered 'foothills.' The valley is separated into a 'mesa,' the dry elevated plain sloping down from the foothills ; and the ' lowlands,' which include the 'willow bottoms,' such as the San Gabriel river bed in the neighborhood of El Monte. The 'oak regions ' occupy an intermediate area, in places running up on to the foothills. In general, as far as I know, it may be said that the ' lowlands,' the 'mesas,' and tongues extending up into the foothills are Lower Sonoran; that the 'oak regions,' and 'foothills,' and even the hot slopes of the highest peaks, are Upper Sonoran ; while the north slopes and deep canyons of the ' mountains ' to their summits, within the ten mile radius of the list, are mainly Transition, but with a trace of Canadian, and with such characteristic birds as the mountain chickadee, blue-fronted jay, plumed partridge, junco, and slender- billed nuthatch. Pasadena itself is Lower Sonoran, having such birds as the phaiuopepla, mockingbird, road-runner, Texas night- hawk, and Costa hummingbird. j3£chnnphorus orridentalis : Western Grebe. — Occasional winter visitant on tlie l;ir<;vr ponds. Podilymbm podiceps : Pied-billed Grebe. — Fairly common resident on tule-margined ponds. Guria imher : Loon. — Frequent in winter on large ponds and reservoii-s. Larus ralifhrnicus : California Gull. — Occasional in winter about ponds and streani.s. Phalarrocorax dilophni^ nlbnciliatus : Farallone Cormorant. — Frequent in winter on the lar<;er ponds. Pelecanus erythrorhijnrhos : American White Pelican. — Occurs in migra- tion ; also more rarely about ponds in winter. Merganser serrator : Red-breasted Merganer — Occasional midwinter visitant f»n the lowlands. Anas bosrhds : Mallard. — Fairly connnon resident in the vicinity of streams and ponds. Marera anteriraua : Baldpate. — Conmion winter visitant. Neltion raro/inensis : Groen-winyed T»*al. — Common winter visitant. Querr/itedula ri^anojjtfra : Cinnamon Teal. — Cominoii si>riii<;- and summer visitant on ponds and marslics. S/xitida rli/peata : Shoveller. — Common winter visitant. Erisnidtura jamaivensis: KuddyDnt-k. — Connnon resident on tlu> larger l)onds. lintanrus Icntiginosus : Ann-rican IWttern. — Common winter visitant on niarsli lands. Ardea /lerodias: (Jreat lUue Heron. — Common resident in the lower country. Ardea riresrcns autlnmiii : Anth(»ny (ireen Heron. — Common migrant ahoui streams and ponds. Iviii INTRODUCTION N ycticorax nycticorax mevius : Black-crowned Night Heron. — Common migrant about streams and ponds. Grus mexicana : Sandhill Crane. — Conmion in migration and occasional during winter. Ballus virginianus : Virginia Rail. — Fairly common migrant on marsh lands and along streams. For zona Carolina : Sora. — Fairly common resident of marsh lands. GalUnula galeata : Florida Gallinule. — Fairly common resident on the larger tule-bordered ponds. Fulica americana : American Coot. — Common resident on any body of water. Himantopus mexicanus : Black-necked Stilt. — Fairly common migrant in the lower coixntry. Gallinago delicata : Wilson Snipe. — Fairly common winter visitant to lower grass lands. Tringa minutilla : Least Sandpiper. — Fairly common migrant and winter visitant about streams and ponds. Tringa alpina pacijica : Red-backed Sandpiper. — Occasional migrant, occurring- at ponds. Helodromas solitarius cinnamomeus : Western Solitary Sandpiper. — Fairly common migrant along streams. Actitis macidaria : Spotted Sandpiper. — Common migrant, occurring about any ]ionds or streams. ^gialitis vocifera : Killdeer. — Abundant resident on any marsh lands. Oreortyx pictus plumiferiis : Plumed Partridge. — Common resident of the mountains ; occasional along their bases. Lophortyx calif ornicus vallicola : Valley Partridge. — Abundant resident of brush lands. Columba fasciata : Band-tailed Pigeon. — Common winter visitant to the oak regions. Zenaidura macroura : Mourning Dove. — Abundant resident everywhere. Gymnogyps californianus : California Vulture. — Fairly common resident of the mountains. Cathartes aura : Turkey Vulture. — Abundant resident everywhere. Circus hudsonius : Marsh Hawk. — Common resident in the loAver coun- try- Accipiter velox : Sharp-shinned Hawk. — Common winter visitant every- where. Accipiter cooperii : Cooper Hawk. — Fairly common resident along the foothills. Buteo horealis calurus : Western Red-tail. — Common resident every- where. Buteo lineatus elegans : Red-bellied Hawk. — Fairly common resident in the lower country. Buteo swainsoni : Swainson Hawk. — Common spring and summer vis- itant. Aquila chrysa'etos : Golden Eagle. — Fairly common resident of the moun- tains. Falco mexicanus : Prairie Falcon. — Rare visitant to the foothill regions. Falco columharius : Pigeon Hawk. — Fairly common winter visitant. Falco sparverius deserticola : Desert Sparrow Hawk. — Abundant resident everywhere. Strix pratincola : American Barn Owl. — Common resident of the oak regions. Asio v'ilsonianus : American Long-eared Owl. — Fairly common resident of the lowlands. INTRODUCTION lix Asio accipitrinua : Short-eared Owl. — Rare Avinter visitant to the low- lauds. Syrnium occidentale : vSpotted Owl. — Resident of the mountains ; perhaps fairly connnon. thoiij^h not often met with. Megascops asio bendirei : California Screech Owl. — Common resident everywhere. Bubo virginiaii'is parijicHs : Pacific Horned Owl. — Fairly common resident in the oak rej^ion. Speotyto cuniculuria hypvyaa : Burrowing- Owl. — Common resident of the mesas and lowlands. Glaucidium ynoma : Pygniy Owl. — Resident of the moimtains ; perhaps fairly common, tliouj;!! by nature of its habits not often seen. Geococcyx culifornianus : Road-runner. — Fairly conmion resident of the mesas and foothills ; rai)idly becoming- scarce. Coccyzus americuniis occidentaUs : California Cuckoo. — Rai'e summer vis- itant to the willow bottoms. Ceryle alcyon : Belted Kingfisher. — Common migrant, appearing- at re- servoirs and ahmg- streams. Dryobates villosus hyloscopus : Cabanis Woodpecker. — Fairly common in the mountains ; resident. Dryobates pubescens turati : Willow Woodpecker.^ — Fairly common in the willow regions ; resident. Dryobates nuttallii : Nuttall Woodpecker. — Common resident in the oak and foothill regions ; visits the willow botton)s in fall and winter. Xenopirus albolarvatus : White-headed Woodpecker. — Fairly common re- sident in the higher mountains. Sphyrapicus variiis nuchalis : Red-naped Sapsucker. — Bare midwinter vis- itant along- the foothills. Sphyrapicus varius daggetti : - Sierra Sjip.sucker. — Common winter visitant, often about orchards and on pepper-trees along the city streets. Sphyrapicus thyroideus : William.son Sapsucker. — Bare winter visitant on the mountains. Mehnwrpes forinicivorus bairdi : Californian Woodpecker. — Common resi- dent of tlie oak regions. Melanerpes torquatus : Lewis Woodpecker. — Fairly common winter vis- itant to the oak regions. Colaptes cafcr coUaris : Bed-shafted Flicker. — Common resident of both the mountains and lowlands. Phahi ni>j)tdus nuttallii californicus : Dusky Poor-will. — Common resident of the foothills. Chordeiles acutipennis texensis : Texas Nighthawk. — Common summer vis- itant, chiefly on the dry mesas. Cht^tura vauxii : Vaux Swift. — Common migrant .-ilong the foothills. ^liroiiautts iiicldiKihucHs : White-tliroated Swift. — Fairly common, except in midwinter, along the foothills and in tlie mountains. Trochilus alcxandri : Black-cliinued Hummingbird. — ('ommou sunnmr visitant along the ftjothills and in the mountain canyons. (Jalypte costa : Costa Hummingbird. — Common summer visitant to tlie dry mesas. Caly/ite a)iu(i : Anna Hummingbird. — Common resident anywhere. Srlas/ihorus ruf'us : Kufous Hummingbird. — Common migrant everv- wbere. Scl(tsj)h()rus alleni : Allen Hummingbird. — F.iirly common spring migr;Mil along the foothills. ' Not vet acted on by A O. U. foiimiitl.-f. ( F. .M H.) = .V. rutin- of tin- Clieck-LiHt. Ix INTRODUCTION Stellula calliope: Calliope Hummingbird. — Fairly common summer vis- itant on the mountains. Tyrannus verticalis : Arkansas Kingbird. — Common summer visitant to the valley. Tyrannus vociferans : Cassin Kingbird. — Fairly common winter visitant to the valley. Myiarchus cinerascens : Ash-throated Flycatcher. — Fairly common sum- mer visitant in the oak and foothill regions. Sayornis saya : JSay Phoebe. — Common winter visitant to the valley. Sayornis nigricans semiatra : Western Black Phoebe. — Common resident of the valley. Contopus borealis : Olive-sided Flycatcher. — Fairly common summer vis- itant on the mountains ; migrant through the valley. Contopus richardsonii : Western Wood Pewee. — Common summer visitant to the canyons and mountains. Empidonax difficilis : Western Flycatcher. — Common summer visitant to the mountain canyons. Empidonax ti-aillii : Traill Flycatcher. — Common summer visitant to the willow bottoms. Empidonax hammondi : Hammond Flycatcher. — Fairly common mig-rant along the foothills. Empidonax griseus : Gray Flycatcher. — Rare winter visitant to the val- ley. Otocoris alpestris actia : California Horned Lark.^ — Common i-esident of the lowland plains. Cyanocitta stelleri frontalis : Blue-fronted Jay. — Common resident of the mountains. Aphelocoma californica : California Jay. — Common resident of the foothill regions. Corviis corax sinuatus : American Raven. — Frequent but irregular tran- sient visitant to the valley. Corvus americanus hesperis : ^ California Crow. — Common resident of the lowlands. Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus : Piuon Jay. — Irregular fall visitant to the mesas and mountains. X anthocephalus xanthocephalus : Yellow-headed Blackbird. — Rare and irregular winter visitant. Agelaius phneniceus neMralis : San Diego Redwing. — Common resident of the lowlands. Sturnella magna neglecta : Western Meadowlark. — Common resident of the valley. Icterus cucullatus nelsoni : Arizona Hooded Oriole. — Common summer vis- itant to the mesas and canyons. Icterus bullocki : Bullock Oriole. — Common summer visitant to the valley. Scolecojjhagus cyanocephalus : Brewer Blackbird. — Abundant resident of the lowlands and cultivated mesas. Coccothraustes vespertinus montanus : Western Evening Grosbeak. — Rare and irregular winter visitant along the mountains. Carpodacus purpureus californicus : California Purple Finch. — Fairly common winter visitant to the valley. Carpodacus cassini : Cassin Purple Finch. — Fairly common resident on the higher mountains. Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis : House Finch. — Abundant resident of the valley everywhere. 1 Not yet acted on by A. 0. U. committee. (F. M. B.) INTRODUCTION Ixi Loxia ciirvirostra bemlirei : ^ iSierra Crossbill. — Rare and irregular winter visitant. Astragalifius tristis aalicainans : Willow Goldfinch. — Common resident of the lowlands. Astragalinus psaltria : Arkansas Goldfinch. — Abundant resident of the valley. Astragalinus laurencei : Lawrence Goldfinch. — Fairly common spring and summer visitant to the mountains and mesas. Spimts pinus : Pine Siskin. — Irregular winter visitant anywhere. Pocecetes gramineus conjinis : Western Vesper Sparrow. — Fairly common winter visitant on the mesas. Pocecetes gramineus a (finis: Oregon Vesper SpaiTow. — Fairly common winter visitant to the valley. Ammodramus sandwichensis alaudinus: Western Savanna Sparrow. — Abundant winter visitant to the Rowland plains. Ammodramus savannarum bitnaculatus : Western Grasshopper Sparrow. — Rare winter visitant to the valley. Chondestes grammarus strigatus : Western Lark Sparrow. — Common resi- dent of the valley. Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii : Intermediate Sparrow. — Abundant winter visitant to the valley. Zonotrichia coronata : Golden-crowned Sparrow. — Common winter visitant to the foothill regions. Spizella sorialis arizome : Western Chipiiing Sparrow. — Common summer visitant everywhere ; less common during the winter on the mesas only. Spizella hreweri : Brewer Sparrow. — Rare migrant along the foothills. Spizella atrogularis : Black-chinned Sparrow. — Rare summer visitant on the mountain slopes. Junco ht/emalis : Slate-colored Junco. — Rare winter visitant to the valley. Junco hyemalis thurberi : Sierra Junco. — Common midwinter visitant to the valley : resident in the mountains. Amphispiza belli : Bell Si)arrow. — Fairly common resident on the mesas. Aimophila rnjireps : Rufous-crowned Sparrow. — Rare resident of the foothills. Melospiza cinerea cooj)eri : ^ San Diego Song Sparrow. — Common resident of the lowlands. Melospiza linrolnii : Lincoln S))arrow. — Fairly common migrant and winter visitant in the valh-v. Passerella iliaca insutaris : Kadiak Fox Sparrow.^ — Common winter vis- itant on the mountains. Passerella iliaca megar/if/ncha : Thick-billed Fox Sparrow. — Fairly com- mon winter visitant on the mountains. Pipilo macnlatns megaloni/.r : Spurred Towhee. — Common resident of brushlands everywhere. I*ij)ih) fuscus senicula : Anthonv Towhee. — Abundant resident of the val- ley. ■ ' ^ (heospiza rhlorura : Green-tailed Towhee. — Rare migrant along the foot- hills. Zamelodia mtlanoiip/ndti : IJ]ack-ln';idi'd (irosbeak. — Common summer visitant to the vallt-y. (iniraca carulni lazula : WestcMii Blui' (irosbeak. — Rare summer visitant on tlu' mnsas. Cjianospiza fiinniiii: L.r/.uli iJunting. Ccimmou summer visit.iut to tlu' foothills and nx-sas. ' Not yet a Not yet acted on by A. O. U. cominittff. (F. M. B.) Ixiv INTRODUCTION Merula migratoria propinqua : Western Robin. — Common winter visitant to the valley. Ixoreus ncEvius meruloides : Northern Varied Thrush. — Common mid- winter visitant to the mountains and mesas. Sialia mexicana occidentalis : Western Bluebird. — Common summer visit- ant on the mountains ; common winter visitant to the valley. Sialia arctica : Mountain Bluebird. — Fairly common midwinter visitant to the valley. LIST OF THE BIRDS OF FORT SHERMAN, IDAHO. From Dr. J. C. Merrill's Notes in The Auk, vol. xiv. 347-357, 1897, and vol. XV. 14-22, 1898. Fort Sherman is in northern Idaho, on Coeur d'Alene Lake, which is encircled by hills clad with conifers, and near the Ca?ur d'Alene Mountains. The mouths of streams flowing into the lake afford flats with tules, water grasses, willows, and a few cottonwoods, which are frequented by land birds and a few marsh birds and ducks. At the southern end of the lake the marshy valley of the St. Joseph River affords good nesting and autumnal feeding ground for water birds. When the lake is open a few birds remain on it, going from it to the Spokane River when driven out by ice. The local cli- matic conditions somewhat resemble those of the Northern Cascade Range, and while the avifauna is essentially that of the Rocky Mountains it has Cascade Mountain elements. JEchmophorus occidentalis : Western Grebe. — A single specimen taken. Colymbus holboeUii : Holbcell Grebe. — Resident, but most common during- migrations. Podilymbus j^odiceps : Pied-billed Grebe. — Common on the lake in spring and fall. Gavia imber : Loon. — Resident and quite common except in winter. Larus argentatus : Herring Gull. — Several taken on the lake during fall and winter. Larus delawarensis : Ring-billed Gull. — Fall and winter visitant. Larus Philadelphia : Bonaparte Gull. — One taken and several seen in No- vember. Sterna. — A small white tern breeds about the lake, but no specimens were taken. Phalacrocorax dilophus cincinatus : White-crested Cormorant. — Several cormorants, probably of this form, were seen in September. Merganser americanus : Merganser. — Common during fall and winter. Merganser serrator : Red-breasted Merganser. — A single specimen taken. Lophodytes cucullatus : Hooded Merganser. — The most abundant of the mergansers, frequenting especially the rivers, and in the fall collecting in flocks of forty or fifty individuals. Anas boschas : Mallard. — The commonest duck of tlie vicinity, a few re- maining throughout the winter. Mareca americana : Baldpate. — Common fall visitant on marshes at southern end of lake. INTRODUCTION Ixv Nettion carolinensis : Green-winged Teal. — Quite common, especially dur- ing migrations. Querquedula cyanoptera : Cinnamon Teal. — Rare; a female with several young- two or three days old seen. June 11. Spatula dypeata : JShoveller. — Common ; breeds in St. Joseph marshes. Dajila acuta: Pintail. — Common migrant. Aix sponsa : Wood Duck. — Common summer visitor, especially abun- dant in early fall. Aythya collaris : Ring-necked Duck. — Seems to be more common than the other ' blue-bills,' one or both of which occur but Avere not certainly identified. Clangula islandica : Barrow Golden-eye. — Abundant throughout the win- ter ; all the golden-eyes seen Avere of this species, although the other doubtless occurs. Charitonetta albeo/a : Buffle-head. — Common during winter. Histrionicus histrionicus : Harlequin Duck. — Rare, but occasionally taken on the St. Joseph and Coeur d'Alene rivers. Erismatura jamaicensis : Ruddv Duck. — Not uncommon in siiring- and fall. Chen sp. '? : Ross Snow Goose. — Reported by hunters, but decidedly rare. Anser albifrons gambeli : "White -fronted Goose. — Reported by hunters, but rare. Branta canadensis : Canada Goose. — Common in spiing-. rare in fall. Most abundant goose, especially on prairie at southern end of lake ; a few nest near the lake ; on the fall flight they and many of the ducks pass south over the open prairie fifty miles Avest of the lake. Olor sp. ? — In spring swans are sometimes quite common on lake and marshes. No specimens taken. Botaiirus lentiginosus : Bittern. — Rather common in suitable localities about the lake. Grtis mexicana : Sandhill Crane. — Not uncommon migrant; a few prob- ably breed. Porzana Carolina : Sora. — Not rare in marshes; breeds. Fitlicu ainericana : Coot. — Common, e.specially in autumn. Fhalaropiis lohatus : Northern Phalarope. — Common fall migrant. liecurvirostra americana : Avocet. — A pair seen and one taken in Sep- tember. Gallinago delirata : Wilson Snipe. — I sually rather uncommon migrant- Macrorhainjjfius yriseus : Dowitcher. — Five taken in September on St. Jo- scpli marshes. Trinya maculata : Pectoral Sandpiper. — Common in 18U() from last of August till early Octoljer. Trinya mimitilla : Least Sandpiper. — Three taken in August. Ereunetes occidentalis : Western Sandpiper. — One taken w ith the least sandj)ipers. Tutauus mehnwleiirus : Greater Yellow-legs. — Rather common fall mi- giant ; one heard in .lune. lhlinlromtis salitariuK : Stilitary Sandpiper. — A young bii-d taken in August. liartruiniu lunyicuuda : Bartramian Sandpiper. — Breeds not luieoinnmnly on prairie north of fort. Actitis iiiacnlaria : Spotfeil .'"sandpiper. — Common summer visitor. Nnineniiis liinyirostris : Ji(»ng-hinei(icf'ji/i(diis : Rrcwcr Hlackbiid. — A ffw hn-i-d ahmg the river. Coccot/iraiistes cespcrdnus iiKinluniis : W«'storn Evening Grosbeak. — ProI)a- bly conimon, but irregular summer visitor. Carpodacits russini : Ca.ssin Finch. — Abundant sumnu^r resident. Loxia rurvirostra minor: Crossbill. — Irregular visitor, breeding in hills. Ixviii INTRODUCTION Leiicosticte tephrocotis littoralis : Hepburn Leueostiete. — Apparently an irregular fall and winter visitant. Acanthis linaria : Redpoll. — Winter visitant. Astragalinus tristis : Goldfinch. — A fairly eonniion summer resident. Spinus pinus : Pine Siskin. — Resident. Passerina nivalis : Snowflake. — An irreg-ular winter visitor. Calcarius lapponicus : Lapland Longspur. — A single specimen taken in November. Pooeceles yramineus conjinis : Western Vesper Sparrow. — Breeds spar- ingly. Ammodramus sanduichensis alaudinus : Western Savanna Sparrow. — Com- mon migrant, a few breeding. Ammodramus leconteii : Leconte Sparrow. — A single specimen taken. Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii : Gambel Sparrow. — Fairly common mi- grant. , Spizella monticola ochracea : Western Tree Sparrow. — Rare in winter. Spizella socialis arizome : Western Chipping- Sparrow. — One of the com- monest summer residents. Junco hyemalis connectens : Intermediate Junco. — Migrant. Melospiza fasciata merrilli : Merrill Song Sparrow. — Common summer visitor. Passerella iliaca schistacea : Slate-colored Sparrow. — Rare migrant. Pipilo macxdatus megalonyx : Spurred ToAvhee. — Generally but sparingly distributed in summer. Zamelodia melanocephala : Black-headed Grosbeak. — Not uncommon. Cyanospiza amcena : Lazuli Bunting. — Not common. Piranga ludoviciana : Louisiana Tanager. — Common in migrations ; a few breed. Petrochelidon lunifrons : Cliff Swallow. — Common summer visitor. Hirundo erythrogastra : Barn Swallow. — Occasionally seen near prairie in summer. Tachycineta hicolor : White-bellied Swallow. — Breeds abundantly in cot- tonwoods. Biparia riparia : Bank Swallow. — Breeds on Coeur d' Alene River. AmpeJis garruhis : Bohemian WaxAving. — Irregular winter visitant. Ampelis cedrorum : Cedar Waxwing. — Common summer resident. Lanius boreaiis : Northern Shrike. — Common in fall; a few winter. Vireo olivaceus : Red-eyed Vireo. — Abundant summer visitor. Vireo gilvus: Warbling Vireo. — Breeds somewhat sparing!}'. Vireo solitarius cassinii : Cassin Vireo. — Breeds in moderate numbers. HdminthophUa ruhricapilla gntturalis : Calaveras AVarbler. — Breeds. Helminthophila celata lutescens : Lutescent W^arbler. — Several taken in May. Dendroica cestiva : Yellow Warbler. — Abundant summer resident. Dendroica auduboni : Andubon Warbler. — Summer resident. Dendroica townsendi : Tom nsend Wai^bler. — Breeds. Geothlypis iolmiei : Macgillivray Warbler. — Breeds rather commonly. Geothlypis trichas occidentalis : Western Yellow-throat. — Breeds sparingly. Icteria virens longicauda : Long-tailed Chat. — Common at Coeur d'Alene. Wilsonia pusilla pileolata : Pileolated Warbler. — Occasional migrant. Setophaga ruticilla : Redstart. — Abundant summer visitor. Anthus ptensilvanicus : Pipit. — Rare in spring-, abundant in fall. Cinclus mexicaniis : Dipper. — Fairly common. Galeoscoptes caroUnensis : Catbird. — Common summer visitor. Salpinctes obsoletus : Rock Wren. — A pair found, evidently nesting. INTRODUCTION Ixix Troglodytes aedonparkmanii : Parkmau Wren. — Breeds rather commonly. Olbiorchilus hiemalis pacijicus : Western W^inter Wren. — Kather common resident. Cistothorus palustris jmludicola : Tule W'ren. — Rare in fall. Certhia faniiliaris montana : Rocky Mountain Creejier. — Abundant in winter. Sitta carolinensis aculeata : Slender-billed Nuthatch. — Breeds rather sparingly. Sitta ciinadensis : Red-breasted Nuthatch. — Common winter resident, breeding less plentifully near the fort. Sitta pygmcea : Pygniy Nuthatch. — Most abundant resident. Parus atricapillus : Chickadee. — A common resident. Parus grimbeli: Mountain Chickadee. — Abundant resident. Parus rufescens : Chestnut-backed Chickadee. — Resident. Hegulus satrapa olivaccns : Western Golden-crowned Kinglet. — Resident Begidus calendula : Ruby-crowned Kinglet. — Summer resident. Myadestes townsendii : Solitaire. — Not uncommon migrant, one pair found breeding. Hylocichla fuscescens salicicola : AYillow Thrush. — Rather common sum- mer resident among cottouwoods. ITylocichla ustulata ahme : Alma Thrush. — Breeds rather commonly about the lake and on nu)untain. Merula inigratoria propinqua : Western Robin. — Abundant summer resident. Ixoreus luevius : Varied Thrush. — Migrant. Sialia mexicana hairdi : Chestnut-backed Bluebird. — Abundant summer resident. Sialia arctica : Mountain Bluebird. — Summer resident. LIST OF BIRDS OF CHEYENNE AND VICINITY. By Fkank Bond. Cheyenne; is located in the midst of the Great Plains resion, a little over 6000 feet above the ocean, with an annual rainfall of thirteen inches. The plains around Cheyenne are drained b}' streams fringed by cottonwoods and willows Avhicli attract the migrants. One of these streams flows through the city, whicli by persistent arboriculture has been made an immense grove of trees, an oasis in the desert. Five small lakes, from within the city limits to a mile and a half bc3'ond, offer resting places to waterfowl of all descrip- tions. Tlie mountain range twenty miles west of the city, acting as a barrier to flight, completes the conditions which give Cheyenne a peculiar and diversifled avifaima. The list covers a radius of about three miles from the eily limits ^Krhmo])horus occidf nta/is : Wcstei-n Grebe. — Rare visitant. (^olynibits hoUmllii : Ilolhtell Grelx'. — Hare visitant. Colymhns nigricoUis ralifoniirus : Eared (Jrebe. — Common during inigra- tioiis. Gavin iiiiher : Loon. — Not common but tolerably regulai' \ i-rus riij'u>:: Kufoiis llumiiiiugbird. — Not very common. Tyraniius tyrunnus : Kingbird. — ( Oninion ; breeds. Tyrannus verticalis : Arkansas Kiugl)ird. — Most comnion kingbii-d : breeds. Tyrannus voriferaus : Cassin Kingbird. — Not common. Myiarrhus cinerascens : Ash-throated Flycatcher. — l\are. Cnntopus horf(dis : Olive-sided Flycatcher. — Not common. Coiitdfjus rir/tardsoiiii : ^V(■st(■ru Wood Pewee. — Tolerably comnutn. Empidomix Iraillii : Traill Flycatcher. — Bare. Fmpu/ouax minimus: Least Flycatcher. — Tolerably conuuon. I'irajjira hudsonica : Magpie. — Hare in the city. Cyanoiitta sttlleri diademata : Long-crested .Jay. — Rare in the city. Nuri/'raga rulumhiana : Clarke Niitcracker. — Autumnal Hocks of young tolerai)ly common. Cyani>njt/i(dus rijanonpludus : Pinon.Iay. — Ueguhir :iiituuin visitor, stuue- times wintering-. Ixxii INTRODUCTION Dolichonyx oryzivorus : Bobolink. — Occasional summer resident. Molothrus ater : Cowbird. — Common summer resident. X anthocejihalus xanthocephalus : Yellow-headed Blackbiixl. — Not com- mon. Agelaius phieniceiis : Red-wing-ed Blackbird. — Common summer resident. Sturnella magna neglecta : Western Meadowlark. — Common summer resi- dent. Icterus hullocki : Bullock Oriole : Tolerably common summer resident. Scolecophagus cyanocejjhalus : Brewer Blackbird. — Common. Quiscalus quiscula (eneus : Bronzed Grackle. — Rare. Coccothraustes vespertinus montanus : Western Evening Grosbeak. — Visit- ant ; does not breed. Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis : House Finch. — Abundant summer resi- dent ; sometimes also winter resident. Leucosticte tephrocotis : Gray-crowned Leueosticte. — Frequent winter visitor. Acanthis linaria : Redpoll. — Occasional winter visitor. Astragalinus tristis : Goldfinch. — Common summer i-esident. Astragalinus psaliria : Arkansas Goldfinch. — One taken in Cheyenne. Spinus pinus : Pine Siskin. — Regular autumn visitor. Passerina nivalis : Snowflake. — Regular winter visitor, often in very large flocks. Calcarius ornatus : Chestnut-collared Longspur. — Summer resident ; not common. Bhynchophanes mccoumii : McCown Longspur. — Abundant summer resi- dent. Pooecetes graminens con finis : Western Vesper Sparrow. — Common mi- grant ; probably breeds near. Ammodramus sandwichensis alaudinus : Western Savanna Sparrow. — Com- mon migrant. Chondestes gramniacus strigatus : Western I^ark Sparrow. — Common mi- grant. Zonotrichia lencophrys gambelii : Gambel Sparrow. — Common migrant. Spizella monticola ochracea : Western Tree Sparrow. — Common migrant. Spizella socialis arizonce : Western Chipping Sparrow. — Tolerably com- mon migrant. Spizella jmllida : Clay-colored Sparrow. — Common ; probably breeds. Spizella hreweri : Brewer Sparrow. — Tolerably common. Junco hyemalis : Slate-colored Junco. — Tolerably common. Junco hyemalis connectens : Intermediate Junco. — Tolerably common, Junco mearnsi : Piuk-sided Junco. — Common migrant. Amphispiza belli nevadensis : Sage Sparrow. — Rare visitor. Melospiza melodia montana : Mountain Song Sparrow. — Tolerably com- mon migrant. Melospiza lincolnii : Lincoln Sparrow. — Common migrant. Oreospiza chlorura : Green-tailed Towhee. — Common migrant. Zamelodia melanocephala : Black-headed Grosbeak. — Occasional city vis- itor only. Cyanospiza amxena : Lazuli Bunting. — Summer resident ; not many nest. Calamospiza melanocorys : Lark Bunting. — Abundant; breeds. Piranga ludoviciana : Louisiana Tanager. — Common migrant. Piranga erythromelas : Scarlet Tanager. — Rare visitor. Progne subis : Purple Martin. — Rare visitor. Petrochelidon lunifrons : Cliff Swallow. — Common ; l)reeds. Hirundo erythrogastra : Barn Swallow. — Common ; breeds. INTRODUCTION Ixxiii Tachycineta bicolor : White-bellied Swallow. — Not very common. Hiparia riparia : Bank Swallow. — Tolerabh' common. Stelgidopteryx serripennis : Kougli-winged Swallow. — Tolerably conmion. Ampelis garrulus : Bohemian AVaxwing-. — Rare. Ampelis cedroruvi : Cedar Waxwing-. — Rare. Lanius borealis : Northern Shrike. — Regular winter visitor. Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides: White-rumped Shrike. — Common sum- mer resident. Vireo oUvaceus : Red-eyed Vireo. — Not common. Vireo gilvus swainsoni : ^ Western Warbling- Vireo. — Common. Helminthophila celata : Orange-crowned Warl>ler. — Common migrant. Helininthophila peregrina : Tennessee Warbler. — Rare. Coinpsot/ilypis americana usnece : Northern Parula Warbler. — Rare. DendroUa (estiva : Yellow Warbler. — Common summer resident. Dendroica coronata : Yellow-rumped Warbler. — Common migrant. Dendroica auduboni : Audubon Warbler. — Common migrant. Dendroica striata : Black-poll Warbler. — Tolerably common migrant. Seinrus noveboracensis notabilis : Grinnell Water-Thrush. — Rare visitor. Geothlypis tolmiei : Macgillivray Warbler. — Common migrant. Geothlypis trichas occidentalis. — Western Yellow-throat. — Common mi- g-rant. Setophaga ruticilla : Redstart. — Tolerably common migrant. Anthxis spragueii : Sprag'ue Pipit. — Common migrant. Cinclus mexicanus : Dipper. — Rare visitor. Oroscoptes vtontanus : Sage Thraslier. — Common migrant. Mimus polyglottos leucopterus : Western Mockingbird. — Regular summer resident ; a few pairs breed. Galeoscoptes caroliiiensis : Catbird. — Tolerably common migrant. Toxostoma rufum : Brown Thrasher. — Common; breeds. Salpinctes obsoletiis: Rock ^^'ren. — Conmion migrant. Troglodytes ai'don aztecus : Western House Wren. — Tolerably common migrant. Certhia fa miliar is mnntana : Rocky Mountain Creeper. — Casual visitor. Sitta carolinensis aculeata : Slender-billed Nuthatch. — Rare visitor. iSitta canadensis : Red-breasted Nuthatch. — Occasional visitor. Sitta pygntcea : Pygmy Nuthatch. — Rare visitor. Parus gatnbeii : Mountain Chickadee. — A flock occasionally visits the city. JRegtdus calendula : Rul)y-crowned Kinglet. — Tolerably regular spring- migrant. Myadestes tnwnsendii : Townscnd Solitaire. — Regular migrant : tolerably common. llylocichhi ustulata sirainsoni : Olive-backed Thrush. — Common migrant. Mf^rtiia iiiigratoria : Robin. — Tolerably common summer resident. Merula iiiigratoria jtropinqua : Western Kobin. — Frequently winters. Sialia sialis : Bluebird. — Occa.sionally seen both in winter and in midsum- mer ; may breed. Sialia arctica : Mountain liluebird. — .\bundant l)reeder tor species. ' r. ,jilriis of Check-List. (F. M. IJ.) ixxiv INTRODUCTION BIRDS OF PINAL, PIMA, AND GILA COUNTIES, ARIZONA. From W. E. D. Scott, in The Aul\ vol. iii. 383, 421, 1886 ; vol. iv. 16, 196, 1887 ; vol. V. 29, 159, 1888. The region covered by Mr. Scott's paper extends eighty miles north and forty miles south of Tucson. The Santa Catalina Moun- tains form its backbone, and the Gila, Santa Cruz, and San Pedro rivers flow through it. The region about Tucson is a plain of about 2300 feet altitude, arid and cactus-grown except where it is watered by springs and sporadic streams which support cottonwoods and other trees. The Florence region in the valley of the Gila is similar to that about Tucson. At Riverside the valley is much narrower. Mineral Creek rises at about 5000 feet altitude in the Pinal Moun- tains. The birds of the entire region may be divided into birds of the plains and valleys, birds of the oak belt, and birds of the pine re- gions, though of course the species shift back and forth, the vertical migration being here as important as the north and south migra- tions. Podilymbus podiceps : Pied-billed Grebe. — Two taken by Mr. Herbert Brown near Tucson in February. Gavia lumme : Red-throated Loon. — One taken in December near Tucson. Merganser aviericanus : Merganser. — Seen at San Pedro River in Jan- uary. Lojjhodytes cucuUatus : Hooded Merganser. — One taken by Mr. BroAvn near Tucson in December. Anas boschas : Mallard. — One of the commonest ducks about Tucson in fall and winter. Chaidelasnius streperns : Gadwall. — One taken by Mr. Brown near Tuc- son. Mareca americana : Baldpate. — Found on San Pedro River in small flocks in January. Nettion carolinensis : Green-winged Teal. — Abundant about Tucson at times during the winter (Brown). Querquedula discors : Blue-winged Teal. — A few seen on San Pedro River; uncommon about Tucson (Brown). Querquedula cyanoptera : Cinnamon Teal. — Common winter visitant about Tucson (Brown). Spaitda clypeata : Shoveller. — Common about Tucson in winter (Brown). Dajila acuta : Pintail. — Not uncommon on San Pedro River in March. Aythya americana : Redhead. — Common about Tucson in winter (Bjown), and found in small flocks on San Pedro River in January. Aythya vallisneria : Canvas-back. — A small flock seen on San Pedro in January. Aythya marila : Scaup Duck. — Rather common on San Pedro River in winter. Aythya affinis : Lesser Scaup Duck. — A few seen on the San Pedro in January. INTRODUCTION Ixxv Charitonetta albeoia : Buffle-head. — One taken in December near Tucson, and one on San Pedro in January. Erismatura jamaicensis : Ruddy Duck. — Not uncommon about Tucson at times. Branta canadensis (subsp. ?): Canada Goose. — Three seen on pond near the San Pedro in January. Plegadis autumnalis: Glossy Ibis. — Not infrequent about bottom lands near Tucson (Brown). Plegadis guarauna : White-faced Glossy Ibis. — Common in May near Tucson. Tantalus loculator : Wood Ibis. — Rather common on (jila and San Pedro rivers most of the. year. Botaurus lentiginosus : Bittern. — Rare about Tucson (Brown). Ardea herodias : Great Blue Heron. — Rather common resident. Ardea egretta : Egret. — Rather common about Tucson in May. Ardea candidissima : Snowy Heron. — Five seen near Tucson in May. Ardea virescens anthoni/i : Anthony Green Heron. — Rather rare about Tucson (Brown). Nycticorax ni/cticorax nceviits : Black-crowned Night Heron. — Rather rare about Tucson (Brown) ; found on the Santa Cruz in May. Ealliis virginianus : Virginia Rail. — One seen on the San Pedro in Jan- uary. Porzana Carolina: Sora. — One taken at Tucson in April (Brown). Gallinula galeata : Florida Gallinule. — Not uncommon about Tucson (Brown) ; rare on San Pedro in late January. Ftdica americana : Coot. — Common except in summer. Steganopus tricolor : Wilson Phalarope. — Common during migration about Tucson. Becurvirostra americana : Avocet. — Common at times in fall migration near Tucson (Brown). Gallinago delicata : Wilson Snijje. — Common in migrations about Tucson. a few wintering- there and in San Pedro River region. Tringa minntilla : Least Sandpiper. — Common about Tucson in migra- tions (Brown). Tringa alpina pacijica : Red-backed Sandpiper. — Flocks seen in April near Tucson. Erennetes occidentalis : Western Sandpiper. — Common migrant about Tucson, Limosa fedoa: Marbled Godwit(?). — A godwit probably of this species seen in January on San Pedro River. Totanus riulanoleucus : Greater Yellow-legs. — Two taken by Mr. Brown near Tucson in October. Helodroinas solitarius cinnainomens : Western Solitary Sandpiper. — Not unconmion about Tucson in migrations. Actitis macularia : Spotted Sandpiper. — Occasional about Tucson in spring. Ntnuf nius lonf/iro.^tris : Lonu-l)illed Curlew. — Not common in migrations al>out Tucson (Broun). ^■Ktji(dilis vorifrrii: Killdeer. — Common about Tucson in spring and fall. bn*eding in small numbers in the San Pedro region. zEglalitis senti/ialmata : Scmipalniated Plover. — Doubtless common about Tucson in niigratioiis. Colinits ridiiHdi/i : Masked Dob-w liitf. — Found by Mr. Bntwu in the Barbo([uivari Mount. lins. Callipepla sf/iiainatft : Scab'd P.iit ridge. — Most al)undant on the dry mesjus of the San Pedro slope ot the Sauta Catalina Mountains. Ixxvi INTRODUCTION Lophortyx gambelii : Gambel Partridge. — Common below 5000 feet. Cyrtonyx montezumce. mearmi : Mearns Massena Partridge. — Common in oak regions of the mountains. Meleagris gallapavo merriami : Merriam Turkey. — Found on the San Pedro River and in oak and pine regions of the Catalina Mountains. Coltimba fasciata : Band-tailed Pigeon. — Common in Catalina Moun- tains. Zenaidura n.acroura: Mourning Dove. — Resident except in pine region. Melopelia leucoptera : White-winged Dove. — Generally distributed up to o500 feet. Columhigallina passerina jiallescens : Mexican Ground Dove. — Not uncom- mon about Tucson, Riverside, and Florence. Scardafella inca : Inca Dove. — Found at Tucson and Florence. Cathartes aura : Turkey Vulture. — Common at low altitudes throughout the year. Circus hudsonius : Marsh Hawk. — Recorded from Tucson in fall, winter, and spring. Accipiter velox : Sharp-shinned Hawk. — Common in fall migration in oak region of Santa Catalina range. Accipiter cooper ii : Cooper Hawk. — Common resident. Parabuteo unicinctus harrisi : Harris Hawk. — One taken by Mr. Brown near Tucson. Buteo borealis calurus : Western Red Tail. — Abundant resident through- out the entire region. Buteo abbreviatm : Zone-tailed Hawk. — Breeds throughout the region. Buteo swainsoni : Swainson Hawk. — Common near Tucson in warmer part of year. Asturina plagiata : Mexican Goshawk. — Not uncommon in spring and summer about Tucson. Aquila chrysaetos : Golden Eagle. — Common resident above 4000 feet. Falco niexicanus : Prairie Falcon. — Rather common resident of the plains. Falco columbarius : Pigeon HaAvk ('?). — A small falcon seen at a distance in the Catalina pine region. Falco sparverius deserticola : Desert Sparrow Hawk. — Common resident up to 5000 feet. Breeds in woodpecker holes in giant cactus. Polyborus cheriway : Audubon Caracara. — Rather common about Tucson in warmer part of year ; a few apparently resident. Pandion haliaetus carolinensis : Osprey. — Not uncommon along large watercourses. Strix pratincola : Barn Owl. — Three specimens taken near Tucson. Megascaps trichopsis : Spotted Screech Owl. — Common resident about Tucson : also taken at Riverside and in Catalinas. Bubo virginianus pallescens : Western Horned Owl. — Common resident. Speotyto cunicularia hypogcea : Burrowing Owl. — A colony reported from near Benson and another near Florence, but unusual in region. Glaucidium j^halcenoides : Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. — Not uncommon about Tucson. Micropallas whitneyi : Elf Owl. — Commonest resident owl up to 5000 feet. Geococcyx californianus : Road-runner. — Common resident up to 4000 feet. Coccyzus americanus occidentalis : California Cuckoo. — Rare in June and July on San Pedro slope of Catalinas. Trogon (sp. ?). — A species of trogon undoubtedly occurs in Catalina Moun- tains. Reported. INTRODUCTION Ixxvii Ceryle alcyon : Belted King-fisher. — Resident. Dryohates villosus kyloscopus : Cabunis Woodpecker. — Resident in pine forest ; winter visitor to lower altitndes. Dryohates jmbescens homorus ; Eatchelder Woodpecker. — One seen on Gila River. Dryobaies scalaris bairdi: Texan Woodpecker. — Common below 4000 feet. Dryohates arizonce : Arizona Woodpecker. — Not uncommon in Santa Ritas and Catalinas. Sphyrapicus varins nnchalis : Red-naped Sapsucker. — Migrant. Sphyrapicus thyroUhus : Williamson Sapsucker. — Found in pines of Cata- lina Mountains. Melanerpes formicivorus : Ant-eating- Woodpecker. — Common resident of mountains down to 4(U)() feet. Melanerpes torquatus : Lewis Woodpecker. — Abundant though irregular migrant in Catalina Mountains at low altitudes. Melanerpes uropygialis : Gila Woodpecker. — Common resident, especially in giant cactus region, and occurs in numbers up to 4500 feet. Colaptes cafer rollaris : Red-shafted Flicker. — Common throughout the region, but breeding above OOOO feet Colaptes rhrysoides : Gikled Flicker. — Rather common resident in giant cactus belt. Antrostotiuis vociferus iiiacromystax : Stephens Whip-poor-will. — A whip- poor-will, undoubtedly of this species, lieard in the Catalinas. Phakcnopl ilus nuttalUi : Poor-will. — An abundant migrant ; breeds in mountain regions. Chordeiles virginianus henryi : Western Nighthawk. — Seen in Catalinas in early spring- above 40C0 feet. Chordeiles acutipenms texensis : Texan Nighthawk. — Abundant migrant below 4r)00 feet. Chi^tura vauxii : Vaux Swift. — Seen between 8000 and 4000 feet in the Catalinas in October. Aeronautes )iielanolfiirHs : White-throated Swift. — An abundant migrant; a few proba])ly winter. Trochilus alexandri : Rlack-chinned Hummingbird. — Common summer resident in Catalina Mountains. Calypte cost(v : Costa Hummingbird. — Conmion in Catalinas. Calypte anna : .\nna Hummingbird. — One seen in Catalina Mountains at .■)()00 feet in October. Selasphorus j)/atynrrus : Broad-tailed Ilnuimingbird. — Common migrant, doubtless bn-eding in Catalinas. Selaspliorus rufus : Rufous Ilumniingbird. — Probably breeds at higher altitudes in Catalinas ; abundant in August and September from 4000 toOOOOfeet. Selasphorus alien i : Allen Hunmiingbird. — One taken in Catalina Moun- tains. Stellnia callioj)r : Calliope llumniingl)ir(l. — Two taken in (\-italinas at .■■)(M)0 fp«>t. lar/if latirostris : Bro.Kl-l.ilIrd Huniniini^liird. — Summer resident in Cat- alina Mountains. TyrattuHx ffrtindis : .\rkansas Kingbird. — One of the coinincincst sum- mer resident binls of tlie plains, and (Munnion in X\n'\\ up to 0000 feet. TyrnuuHs voriftrans : Cassin Kingbinl. — Found in footliills aluuit Hivcr- sidc :ind in Catalina Mountains. Myidrc/iiifi i/ie.riraiiits niagistrr : .Arizona Crested Flypatchcr. — Common in spring and summer al)out Tucson. Florence, Rivei-side. and the Catalinj^s up to 4r><)0 feet. Ixxviii INTRODUCTION Myiarrhus cinerascens : Ash-throated Flycatcher. — Abundant migrant and summer resident. Myiarchus lawrencei olivascens : Olivaceous Flycatcher. — One taken at 5000 feet in Catalina Mountains ; common in Santa Rita Mountains (Stephens). Sayornis saya : Say Phcfibe. — Common winter resident, breeding- sparingly in Catalina Mountains. Sayornis nigricans: Black Phoebe. — Regular resident in valleys about watercourses, and summer resident of mountains. Contopus borealis : Olive-sided Flycatcher. — Rather common migrant in mountains. Contopus pertinax j^allidiventris : Coues Flycatcher. — Two recorded from the Catalinas. Contopus richardsonii : Western Wood Pewee. — Common summer resident in Catalina Mountains. Empidonax dijficilis : Western Flycatcher. — Found in Catalinas from June till last of October. Empidonax traillii : Traill Flycatcher. — Two taken in the Catalina Moun- tains. Empidonax hammondi : Hammond Flycatcher. — Migrant in Catalina Mountains. Empidonax wrightii : Wright Flycatcher. — Four taken in Catalina Moun- tains, 3500 to 4500 feet. Pyrocephalus ruhineus mexicanus : Vermilion Flycatcher. — Resident at Tucson and Florence ; a few breeding up to 4500 feet in the Catalinas. Otocoris alpestris (subsp. ?) : Horned Lark. — Found about Tucson in fall and winter. Cyanocitta stelleri diademata : Long-crested Jay. — Resident in pines in Catalina Mountains, descending to oak region in winter. Aphelocoma woodhouseii : Woodhouse Jay. — Common resident at head- waters of Mineral Creek and in foothills of the Catalinas. Aphelocoma sieberii arizonce : Arizona Jay. — Abundant resident in oak region of Catalinas. Corvus corax sinuatus : Raven. — Common about Tucson throughout the year. Corvus cryptoleucus : White-necked Raven. — Common at times about Tucson and other jioints. ' Corvus americanus : Crow. — Large flocks seen in spring and fall on foot- hills of Catalinas. Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus : Pifion Jay. — Seen in oak belt of Catalinas. Molothrus ater obscurus : Dwarf Cowbird. — Common at Riverside and not uncommon about Tucson and Florence. XanthocephaJus xanthocephalus : Yellow-headed Blackbird. — Abundant about Tucson, Florence, and valley of the San Pedro in winter. Agelaius j^hoeniceus sonoriensis : Sonoran Red-wing. — Common resident. Sturnella magna hoopesi : Rio Grande Meadowlark. — Resident. Icterus parisorum : Scott Oriole. — Breeds near water, and on arid plains and mesas from oOOO to 8000 feet. Icterus cucullatus nelsoni : Ainzona Hooded Oriole. — Common throughout the region, being absent only about four months, ranging in summer up to nearly 6000 feet. Icterus bxdlocki : Bullock Oriole. — Not uncommon about Tucson and Flor- ence ; rare in the Catalinas. Scolecophagus cyanocephalus : Brewer Blackbird. — Abundant winter resi- dent below 3000 feet. INTRODUCTION Ixxix Coccothraustes vesj)ertinus montanus : Western Evening- Grosbeak. — Seen in pine woods of Catalinas. Carpodacus ])urpureus califoniicus : California Purple Finch. — Large flocks seen in Catalina Mountains in fall and winter of 1885. Carpodacus cassini : Cassin Purple Finch. — Seen in Catalinas in winter. Carpodacus uiexicanHs frontalis : House Finch. — Abundant summer resi- dent ; less common winter resident. Loxia curvirostra stricklandi : Mexican Crossbill. — Irregularly abundant in Catalinas. Astragalinus tristis pallid us : Western Goldfinch. — Seen in Catalinas in winter. AstragaUnus psaltria : Arkansas Goldfinch. — Nomadic and not very com- mon in the Catalinas. Astragal inus psaltria arizomv : Arizona Goldfinch. — Less common than the Arkansas. Astragalinus laicrencei : Lawrence Goldfinch. — One taken by Mr. Brown in February. ' Spinus pinus : Pine Siskin. — Common and at times an abundant winter visitor in the Catalinas. Calcarius ornatus : Chestnut-collared Longspur. — A large flock seen in November on mesa of Catalina foothills. Pooecetes gramineus conjinis : Western Vesper Sparrow. — Migrant in Cat- alina region. Ammodranius sandwichensis alaudinus : Western Savanna Sparrow. — Oc- curs rather sparingly about Tucson in fall, winter, and spring (Brown). Ainmodramus savannarum bimaculatus : Western Grasshopper Sparrow. — Apparently rather an uncommon resident of the mesas of the Catalina foothills. Chondestes grammacus strigatus : Western Lark Sparrow. — Resident about Tucson and common in .the Catalina region up to ;j(JOO feet in the warmer months. Zonotrichia leucophrijs : White-crowned Sparrow. — Apparently rare. Zonotrichia leucophri/s gamhelii : Intermediate Sparrow. — Winter resident. Spizella socialis arizonw : Western Chipping" sparrow. — In Catalinas ; rare in summer, abundant in fall, winter, and spring. Spizella pallida : Clay-colored Sparrow. — Seen at Mineral Creek in Octo- ber. November, and March. Sjjizella utrogularis : Black-chinned Sparrow. — Apparently rare. Jwico hi/emalis : Slate-colored Junco. — Rare, but of regular occurrence in the Catalina region. Junro hijevialis connectens : Intermediate Junco. — Common winter resident. Junco niearnsi : Pink-sided Junco. — Apparently not very common in the Catalinas. Junco caniceps : Gray-headed Junco. — Common in winter in foothill n'gion of the Catalinas. Junco jjliiionotiis palliatus : Arizona Junco. — Found in Catalinas and Pinal mountiiiiis in pine woods in fall and winter. Junco }>h(f<)notus dorsaiis : Ited-bacUcd Junco. — Three specinifus taken in the Catalinas. Anijtliis/iizd bilineata dtserticola : Desert Sparrow. — Coninion resident of the foothill ri'gion of the Catalinas. and abundant al»out 'i'licson. Aiiiphis/)iz(i In Hi n( radcnsis : Sage Sparrow. — One seen in Catalina Moun- tains ; not coninion at Tucson. A number seen on low mesa near the S;in Pedro in November. Ainitijihila r to :}50() feet. Ixxxii INTRODUCTION Miinus polyglottos leucopterus : Western Mockingbird. — Common resident throughout the region up to 5000 feet. Toxostoma hendirei : Bendire Thrasher. — Resident on the plains from Tucson southward, and quite common about Florence in the warmer months. Breeds in Catalinas below 4000 feet. Toxostoma curvirostre palmeri: Palmer Thrasher. — Common resident in cholla cactus region. Tuxosto/iia crissalis : Crissal Thrasher. — Apparently resident throughout the region. Ileleodytes brunneicapillus : Cactus Wren. — Common resident throughout the region below 4000 feet. Salpinctes obsoletus : Rock Wren. — More or less abundant in the counties considered. Catherpes mexicanus conspersus : Canyon Wren. — Resident in mountain canyons up to 5(100 feet. Thryomanes bewickii leucogaster : Baird Wren. — Resident in the Catalinas and Pinal Mountains up to about 6000 feet. Troglodytes a'edon aztecus : Western House Wren. — Breeds in pine re- gions. Cistothorus palustris plesius : Western Marsh Wren. — One taken by Mr. Brown near Tucson. Certhia familiaris albescens : Mexican Creeper. — One taken in pine forests of Catalinas in April. Sitta carolinensls aculeata : Slender-billed Nuthatch. — Common resident in pine woods and higher altitudes. Sitta canadensis : Red-breasted Nuthatch. — One taken at 4500 feet in the Catalinas. Sitta pygnuea : Pygmy Nuthatch. — Found in pine forests of Pinal and Catalina Mountains. Parus wollweberi : Bridled Titmouse. — Rather common resident of the oak region in the Pinal and Catalina Mountains. Psaltriparus phwibeus : Lead-colored Bush-Tit. — Resident in the Cata- linas up to about 7500 feet. Auriparus flaviceps : Verdin. — Resident throughout the entire region up to 4001) feet. Regulus calendula : Ruby-crowned Kinglet. — Common migrant and winter resident in the oak belt. Polioptila cmrnlea obscura : Western Gnatcatcher. — Breeds commonly in the Catalinas, but winters on the plains and mesas. Polioptila plumbea : Plumbeous Gnatcatcher. — Common resident about Tucson and in valley of San Pedro. Myadestes townsendii : Townsend Solitaire. — Found in the mountains. Hylocichla Juscescens salicicola : Willow Thrush. — One taken by Mr. Brown at Tucson. Hylocichla guttata : Alaska Hermit Thrush. — Winter visitant. Hylocichla guttata auduboni : Audubon Hermit Thrush. — Three speci- mens taken. Merula migratoria propinqua : Western Robin. — Common winter resident, 3500 to 0000 feet. Sialia mexicana occidentalis : Western Bluebird. — Winter resident of the foothills ; also breeds in small numbers in the Catalinas. Sialia arctica : Mountain Bluebird. — Irregular fall and winter visitant of the foothills. INTRODUCTION Ixxxiii BOOKS OF refp:rence. GENERAL WORKS. American Oknithologists' Union. Check-List of North American Birds. Second Edition (18U5). Audubon, John Jamks. Birds of America. — Ornitholog-ical Bioofraphy. Baird, Spencer F. Review of American Birds. Smithsonian Mis. Col. 18(34-1800 ; U. S. and Mexican Boundary Survey, vol. ii. part ii. 1809. Baird, S. F., Cassin, J., and Lawrence, G. N. Pacific R. R. Reports, vol. ix.. Birds, 18-"J8. Baird, S. ^., Brewer. T. M., and Ridgway, R. History of North American Birds. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, o vols.. Land Birds, 1874 ; 2 vols., Water Birds, 1884. Beddard, F. E. Study and Classification of Birds. Longmans, Green & Co., New York, 1898. Bendire. Charles E. Life Histories of North American Birds. Smith- sonian Institution. 2 vols. 189:i. 189'>. (Land birds through Icteridae.) Cassin, J. Illustrations of tlie Birds of Texas, California, etc., 1858, 1855, 185G. Cooper, J. G., and Suckley, G. Pacific R. R. Report, vol. xii. No. ii. 1860. CouES, Elliott. Bibliography of Ornithology, Part i.. Faunal Papers, Appendix to Birds of Colorado Valley. 5(36-784, 1878; Parts ii. and iii.. Systematic Papers. Bull. Geol. and Geog. Surv. Terr., Hayden, vol. V. Nos. 2 and 4, 1879; Part iv., Faunal Papers on British Birds. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. vol. ii. for 1879. — Birds of the Colorado Valley, U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr. 1878. — Birds of the Northwest. U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr. 1874. — Key to North American Birds, 2d ed. 1884. Evans, A. H. Cambridge Nat. Hist., vol. ix., Birds, Macmillan Co., New York, 1899. Fisher, A. K. Rept. Orn. Death Valley Exped., N. A. Fauna No. 7, 189o. U. S. Dept. Agr. Heer>la.n, a. L. Pacific R. R. Rept., vol. x. part iv. Nos. i. and ii., Birds, 1859. Henshaw, H. W. Rept. Orn. Spec, Wheeler's Surv. for the Years 1871, 1872, and 187o. — Exp. West Hundredth Meridian, vol. v. chap. iii. Zo- ology, 1S75. Kennekly, C. B. R. Pacific R. R. Rept, vol. x. No. 8, Birds, 19, 1859. Merriam, C. H. Mammals and Birds. 0th Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr. 1872. Nelson, E. W. Rept. Nat. Hist. Coll. Alaska Arct. Ser., No. iii. j)art i.. Birds, 1877. Newton, Alfred. Dictionary of Birds. Macmillan Co.. New York. 4 vols., 189:;- 1890. Ridgway. Robert. Birds of North and Middle America. Bull. No. 50, U. S. Nat. Mus. 1901. 1902. — Hummingbirds, Ann. Rept. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1S90, sec. iii. 25;>. — Nomenclature of Colors, Little, Brown tfc Co., Bo.ston, 1S<)0. — Manual of North American Birds. J. B. Lippin- cott Co., Philad.'li)hia, 2d ed. 1S9('). — Ornithology of Survey of 4s Kiver. Auk, ii. :;2<>, 1S85 ; iii. 7;I, 1886. Mitchell, W. 1. Birds of San Miguel C..unty, Auk, xv. :;0(), 1S98. Oregon. — Anthony, A. W., lHr1, :r)7. 188S. — TowNSEND, J. K. Catalogue Birds of Oregon, Narrative Journ. aci-oss Ixxxvi INTRODUCTION Rocky Mts., Appendix, Perkins & Marvin, Boston, 1839. — Woodcock, A. R. Annotated List of Birds of Oregon, Ore. Agr. Exper. Station, Bull. No. 68, 1902, Corvallis, Ore. South Dakota. — Grinnell. G. B. Ludlow's Rept. Reconn. Black Hills, Zool. Rept. chap, ii.. Birds, 1875. — McChesney, C. E. Birds of Cotean des Prairies of Eastern Dakota, Forest and Stream, vol. viii. 176, 192, 224, 214, 261. Texas. — Attwater, H. P. Birds of San Antonio, Auk, ix. 337, 1892. — Brown, N. C. Second Season in Texas, Auk, i. 120, 1884. — Chapman, F. M. Birds of Corpus Christi, Bull. Am, Mus. Nat. Hist. iii. No. 2, art. xxii. 315. — Lloyd, W. Birds of Tom Green and Concho Counties. Auk, iv. 181, 289, 1887. — Merrill, J. C. Notes on Texan Birds, Bull. Nutt. Ornith. Club, i. No. iv. 88, 1876. — Sennett, G. B. Notes on Orni- thology of Lower Rio Grande, Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr. iv. No. i. 1, 1878; V. No. 3, 371, 1879. Utah. — Henshaw, H. W. Annotated List of Birds of Utah, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y. xi. 1874, 1 ; Notes on the Bird Fauna of the Salt Lake Valley, Bull. Essex Inst. v. No. ii. xi. 168, 1873. Washington. — Cooper, J. C. and Sdckley, G. Birds of 47th and 49th Parallels, Pacific R. R. Rept. vol. xii. book ii. part iii. No. 3, 1860. — Dawson, W. L. Birds of Okonogan County, Auk, xiv. 168, 1897 ; Birds of Yakima County, Wilson, Bull. New Ser. vol. ix. No. 2, No. 39, 1902. — KoBBE, W. H. ^ Birds of Cape Disappointment, Auk, xvii. 349, 1900. — Lawrence, R.H. Birds of Grav's Harbor, Auk, ix. 39, 352, 1892. — Rathbun, S. F. Birds of Seattle, Auk, xix. 131, 1902. — Rhoads, S. N. Notes on Washington and British Columbia Birds, Auk, X. 16, 1893. Wyoming. — Cary, Merritt. Birds of Black Hills, Auk, xviii. 231, 1901. — Knight, Wilbur C. Birds of Wyoming, University of Wyo- ming, Laramie. In press. SPECIAL SUBJECTS AND POPULAR WORKS. SPECIAL SUBJECTS. Bird Protection. A. 0. U. Committee on Bird Protection. Annual Repts., Auk, xiv. 21, 1897; XV. 81, 1898; xvi. 55, 1899; xvii. 51, 1900; xviii. 68, 1901 ; xix. 31, 1902. — Game Laws in Brief, Forest and Stream Publishing Co. (Quarterly), New York. — Palmer, T. S., and Oldys, H. W. Digest of Game Laws, 1901, Bull. 16, Biol. Surv. U. S. Dept. Agr. Game Laws for 1902, Farmer's Bull. No. 160, U. S. Dept. Agr. — Palmer, T. S. Legislation for the Protection of Birds other than Game Birds, Bull. No. 12, Biol. Surv., revised ed. 1902. — Lange, D. Our Native Birds, How to Protect them and Attract them to our Homes, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1899. — Masefield, J. R. B. Wild ^Bird Pro- tection and Nesting Boxes, Taylor Bros., Leeds, England, 1897. — Bird- Lore, Audubon Department, The Macmillan Company, Harrisburg, Pcnn. — Babcock. C. a. Bird Day ; How to Prepare for It, Silver, Burdett & Co., New York and Boston, 1901. Food of Birds. Publications of Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Agriculture. — Beal, F. E. L. Food of Woodpeckers, Bull. No. 7, 1895. — Food of Bobo- link, Blackbirds, and Crackles, Bull. No. 13, 1900 ; Some Common INTRODUCTION Ixxxvii Birds in their Relation to Agriciilture, Farmer's Bulletin, No. 54, 1897 ; Crow Blackbirds and their Food, Yearbook for 1894 ; The Meadowlark and Baltimore Oriole, Yearbook for 189") ; The Blue Jay and its Food, Yearbook for 1890 ; Birds that Injure Grain, Yearbook for 1897 ; How Birds Affect the Orchard, Yearbook for 1900 ; The Food of Cuckoos, Bull. No. 9, 1898; The Food of Nestling- Birds, Yearbook for 1900. — FiSHBK, A. K. Hawks and Owls from the Standpoint of the Farmer, Yearbook for 1894 ; Two Vanishing- Game Birds, Woodcock and Wood Duck, Yearbook for 1901. — Judd. S. D. Four Common Birds of the Farm and Garden, Yearbook for 189.J ; The Food of IShrikes, Bull, No. 9, 1898; The Relation of Sparrows to Agriculture. Bull. No. 15, lUOl. — Merriam. C. H., and Barrows, W. B. The English Sparrow in America, Bull. No. 1, 1889. — Palmer, T. S. A Review of Economic Ornithology in the United States, Yearbook for 1899. Migration. Baird, S. F. Distribution and Migration N. Am, Birds, Am. Journ. Sei. Arts, vol. xli., Jan. 18u6. — Belding, Lyman. Land Birds of Pacific Coast District. Cal. Acad. Sci., San Francisco, 1890. — Brewster, Wil- liam. Bird Migration Memoirs Nutt. Orn. Club, Cambridge, Mass., 188(5, — Chapman, F, M. Remarks on Origin of Migration. Auk, xi. 12. 1894. — Cooke, W.W. Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley, Div. Econ. Orn. Bull. No. 2, U. S. Dept. Agr. — Gatke, H. Heligoland, David Doug- las, Edinburgh, 1895. — LoOMis, L. M. Water Birds of California, Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci., San Francisco. — Stone, Witmer. Bird Waves and their Grapliic Representation, Auk, viii. 194, 1891 ; Graphic Representa- tion of Bii-d Migration, Auk. vi. 189, 1889. See, also, sections on Migra- tion in Chapman's Bird-Life and Newton's Dictionary of Birds. Moult and Protective Coloration. Chadbourne, A. P. Individual Dichromatism in Megascops asio. Auk, xiii. ;>21, 1896 ; xiv. o3, 1897. — Clarke, H. L. Pterylography of the Ca- primulgidte. Auk, xviii, 107, 1901. — DwiGHT, Jonathan, Jr. Moult of Quails and Grouse, Auk, xvii. 14;j, 1900 ; Plumage Cycles and lielation between Plumages and Moults, Auk, xix. 248, 1902 ; Sequence of Moults and Plumages of Larida;, Auk, xviii. 49, 1901 ; Sequences of Plumages and Moulr.s of Passerine Birds. Annals New York Acad. Sci. vol. xiii. 77, ISOO. — Stone, Witmer. Moulting of Birds, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 189(), 108; Moult and Alleged Color Change in Birds, Ibis. Apr. 1901, 177 ; Summer Moulting- of Plumage of Certain Ducks. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1899. 4«'»7. See, ahso, Newton's Dictiouai-y, Moult, and Chapman's Bird-Life, chap, iii., Colors of Birds. Nests and Eggs. Bkndire, Charles E. Life Histories of North American Birds, 2 vols. Sniitli. In.st. 1S02, 1895. — Davie, Olivek. Nests and Eggs of North American Birds, 5th ed. Landon Press, Columbus, Ohio, 1898. See, also, the Condor, Osprey, and Nidologist. Songs. BiCKNKLL, E. P. A Studv of the Singing of our Birds, Auk. i. ()0, 12<'>, 209, :522. 1884; ii. 144,"24'.», 18S5. — Cheney. S. P. Wood Notes Wild. Lee & Sliepard, Boston, 1892. — Oluys, II. W. Parallel Growth of Birtl Ixxxviii INTRODUCTION and Human Music, Harper's Monthly, August, 1902, vol. ev. No. dexxvii. 474. — WiTCHELL, Charles A. Evolution of Bird-Song-, Adam & Charles Black, London, 1896. POPULAR BIRD BOOKS. Baskett, J. N. The Story of the Birds, D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1897. — BuKKOUGHS, John. Wake-Robin ; Fresh Fields ; Birds and Poets ; Locusts and Wild Honey ; Pepacton ; Winter Sunshine ; Signs and Seasons; Riverby, Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston. — Chapman, Frank M. Bird Life (popular colored ed.), 1902 ; Bird Studies with a Camera, 1900 ; Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America, 1902, D. Appleton & Co, New York. — Eckstobm, Fannie Hardy. The Bird Book, D. C. Heath & Co., Boston, 1901; The Woodpeckers, Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston, 1901. — Elliot, D. G. Shore Birds, 1895; Game Birds, 1897 ; Wild Fowl, 1898, Francis P. Harper, New York. — Herkick, Francis H. Home Life of Wild Birds, G. P. Putnam & Sons, New York, 1901. — Job, Herbert K. Among- the Water-Fowl, Doubleday, Pag-e & Co., New York, 1902. — Keeler, Charles A. Bird Notes Afield, Elder & Shepard, San Francisco, 1889. — Keyser. Leander S. Birds of the Rockies, A. C. McClurg- & Co., Chicago, 1902. — Lord, W. R. Birds of Oregon and Washington, J. K. Gill Company, Portland, Oregon, revised edition, 1902. — Merriam, F. a. A-Birding on a Bronco, Houghton, jy^ifflin & Co., Boston, 1896. — Miller, Olive Thorne. Bird-Ways; In Nesting- Time ; Little Brothers of the Air ; A Bird-Lover in the West ; Upon the Tree-Tops ; First Book of Birds ; Second Book of Birds, Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston. — Torrey, Bradford. Birds in the Bush ; A Rambler's Lease ; The Foot-Path Way ; Everyday Birds, Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston. — Sandys and Van Dyke. Upland Game Birds, Macmillan Co.. New York, 1892. — Van Dyke, T. S. Game Birds at Home, Fords, Howard & Hulbert, New York. 1895. — AVright, Mabel Osgood. Birderaft, 2d ed., Macmillan Co., New York, 1899.— Wright, Mabel Osgood, and Dr. Elliott Coues. Citizen Bird, 2d ed., Macmillan Co., New York, 1900. USE OF THE KEYS. If you are a beginner with a bird to identify, and do not know the orders into which birds are divided, go first to the Key to Orders, pp. 1,2. If your bird is a plover, you may not be sure whether it is classed with the water or land birds ; so begin with the Key to Water Birds. This key, as all others in the book, is dichotomous, that is to say, at every step the birds are divided into two classes, which have or have not a given character — birds are black or they are not black, they have crests or they have not crests, their feet are webbed or their feet are not webbed. At each step of the key a number and its prime are used to set apart the two classes. In the case of the Key to Orders of Water Birds the first two classes are birds which have 1. Feet fully webbed. INTRODUCTION Ixxxix r. Feet incompletely or not at all webbed. If the bird you want to name lias fully webbed feet, read down the key from 1 ; if not, go to 1', and read down. The numbers fol- low consecutively from each heading. In this case the birds with fully webbed feet are divided again into several classes, and those without fully webbed feet also have subdivisions. 1. Feet fully webbed (except Grebes in Pyg-opodes. which have the toes lobed or margined). 2. Foot with three webs, all four toes connected. Steganopodes : Totipalmate Swimmers, p. 3. 2'. Foot witli two webs, three front toes connected. 3. Nostrils tubular . Tubinares : Tube-nosed Sw^immers, p. 3. 3'. Nostrils not tubular. 4. Edg'es of mandibles toothed or serrate. Anseres : Lamellirostral S-wimmers. p. 3. 4'. Edges of mandibles not tootlied or serrate. ;"). Legs placed far back, wings short. Pygopodes : Diving Birds, p. 2. •")'. Leg's placed near middle of body ; wings long- and pointed. Longipennes : Long-winged Sw^immers, p. 2. 1'. Feet incompletely or not at all webbed. 2. Lores and ring- around eye naked. Herodiohes : Herons. Storks, and Ibises, p. 4. 2'. Lores and ring- around eye feathered. 3. Hind toe long and approximately on a level with front toes (except in Cranes whicli are over three feet long). Paludicolae : Cranes. Rails. Coots. Gallinules, etc.. p. 4. 3'. Hind toe short and elevated or absent ; bird never over twenty-six inches long- Limicolee : Shore Birds, p. 4. Read down the key, passing the orders to which it does not belong till you come to the order to whicli it does belong. For in- stance, if your bird is a duck it has feet fully webbed (1). with two webs, three front toes connected (2'), nostrils not tubular (3'). and edges of mandibles toothed or serrate (4). It belongs to the Order Anseres: Lamellirostral Swimmers. If, on the other hand, the bird you want to name is a great blue heron, as it has not fully webbed feet, you throw out 1 and all its subdivisions, passing on to 1'. — feet incompletely or not at all wel)bed. The first subdivision here is 2. Lores and ring around cy*' naked. Herodiones : Herons, Storks, and Ibises. You know if there is a naked ring around the eye, and to tind wliat lorcx means you turn to tiie diagram of a bird, i>. 1. When you find that your bird belongs to Order Herodiones. turn to the page given (4), where you will lind a key to the families in the ohUt. xc INTRODUCTION Read down this as before, when, by throwing out the families to which it does not belong, you come to Ardeidm — 2'. Bill straight and sharp, neck and most of head' feathered, to which it does belong. Go now to the page specified (72), and run down the Key to Genera, contained in Family Ardeidse, and you find that it belongs to the genus Ardea, to which you are referred (p. 74). Here you find the general characters of the genus and a key to its species. As you know the bird is bluish gray and its size large you find it to be Ardea herodias, of which a detailed description is given (p. 75). If you have been identifying a bird that you have shot, you will have your own fresh measurements to compare with those in the description (see page xxvii.). In some of the more obscure birds you will find on getting to the description of the species that you have made a mistake in running- down the keys, but by patience and care in following them you will be able to identify all but the most difficult birds. After a little study you will grasp the general classification of birds so that it will not be necessary to go through the whole series of keys for each bird. You may not know what it is, but you know many things that it is not, and if you make a practice of eliminating you will narrow down the possibilities so that it will be much easier to find your bird. You may not know whether it is a crow or a raven, but you do know that it is not a water bird, a hawk, owl, or sparrow, and so you can go on throwing out what you know it is not until you have to look up only those about which you feel uncertain. The question as to which subspecies a bird belongs to, unless de- terminable by geographic range, can often be decided only by expert ornithologists with large series of skins for comparison, and, in such cases, found often among some of the flycatchers, the song spar- rows, and wrens, the only way to be sure of your bird is to send it to a museum for identification. The National Museum in Washing- ton and the American Museum of Natural History in New York will both identify material sent them. Measurement of BUI Measurement of Tarsus TOPOGRAPHY OF A BIRD BIRDS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES KEY TO ORDERS. WATER BIRDS. 1. Feet fully webbed (except grebes in Pygopodes, vvliicli have the toes lobed or margined). 2. Foot with tlirye webs, all four toes connected. Steganopodes : Totipalmate Sw^immers, p. o. 2'. Foot with two webs, three front toes connected. 3. Nostrils tubuhir. Tubinares : Tube-nosed Swimmers, p. ;]. 3'. Nostrils not tubular. 4. Edges of mandibles toothed or serrate. Anseres : Lamellirostral S"wimmers, p. 3. 4'. Edg-es of mandibles not toothed or serrate. 5. Leg's placed far back ; wings short. Pygopodes : Diving Birds, p. 2. 5'. Legs placed near middle of body ; wings long- and pointed. Longipennes : Long--winged Swimmers, p. 2. I'.Feet incompletely or not at all webbed. 2. Lores and ring around eye naked. Herodiones : Herons, Storks, and Ibises, p. 4. 2'. Lores and ring around eye feathered. 3. Hind toe long and approximately on a level with front toes (except in cranes, which are over three feet long) . . . Paludicolae : Cranes, Rails. Coots. Galliniiles. etc.. j). 4. 3'. Hind toe short and elevated or absent ; l)ir(l never over twiMity-six inches long- Limicolae : Shore Birds, p. 4. • LAND BIRDS, 1. Bill strongly hooked. 2. Toes two in front and two behind, outer toi' i)ernianently revei-sed. Psittaci : Parrots, etc.. p. KM). 2'. Toes three in front, or outer toe reveisil)le. Raptores : Birds of Prey. p. 101». r. Bill not strongly hf)oked. 2. Hind toe small and elevated .•il)ove front ones. Gallince : Gallinaceous Birds, p. lOS. 2'. Hiinl toe not elevated .ibove front ones. 3. Bill with soft swollen skin .ironnd nostiils. Columbae : Pigeons or Doves. j». lOS. KEY TO FAMILIES OF WATER BIRDS 3'. Bill without soft swollen skin around nostrils. 4. Toes always three in front, middle and outer ones never connected for half their length ; feet strong'. Passeres : Perching Birds, p. 110. 4'. Toes two or three in front ; if three, middle and outer connected for at least half their length, or feet small and weak. 5. Bill needle-like, or short, with Avide gape . Macrochires : Goatsuckers, Swifts, and Hummingbirds, p. 110. 5. Bill not needle-like nor with wide gape. 6. Tail feathers stiff and pointed. Pici : Woodpeckers, p. 110. 6'. Tail feathers soft, with normal tijjs .... Coccyges : Cuckoos, Trogons, and Kingfishers, p. 109. KEY TO FAMILIES OF WATER BIRDS. ORDER PYGOPODBS: DIVING BIRDS. 1. Tail wanting; feet not fully webbed. Podicipidae : Grebes, p. 5. 1'. Tail present, but short ; feet webbed. 2. Hind toe present Gaviidae : Loons, p. 9. 2'. Hind toe absent ...*... Alcidae : Auks, Murres, and Pufifins, p. 11. Fig. 3. ORDER LONGIPENNES: LONG- WINGED SWIMMERS. I ' • Upper mandible with distinct basal saddle. f Stercorariidee : Jaegers, etc., p. 17. :^^^^^j_ 1'. Upper mandible in one piece. ^ Laridce : Gulls and Terns, p. 19. Fig. 6. KEY TO FAMILIES OF WATER BIRDS 3 ORDER TUBINARBS: TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS. 1. Nasal tubes separated and at sides of bill. Diomedeidae : Albatrosses, p. 32. r. Nasal tubes connected on top of bill. Procellariidae : Fulmars, Shearwaters, and Petrels, p. 3J Fig. 8. ORDER STEGANOPODES : TOTIPALMATE SWIMMERS. 1. Bill straight and .sharp, not hooked at tip. *'^'' ■^• Anhingidae : Darters, p. 39. 1. Bill strongly hooked at tip. 2. Tail deeply forked ; space around eye feath- ered. Fregatidae : Man-o -War Birds, p. 43. 2'. Tail not forked ; space around eye naked. 3. Bill narrow, with slight pouch at base. Phalacrocoracidae : Ccrnaorants, p. 3U. 3'. Bill wide and flat, with large pouch. Pelecaiiidae : Pelicans, p. 42. FiR. !•_' ORDER ANSERES: LAMELLIROSTRAL SWIMMERS. Short-legged swinnners Anatidde : 6 Ducks. Geese, and Swans, p. 44. Fig. U. 4: KEY TO FAMILIES OF WATER BIRDS ORDER HERODIONES: HERONS, STORKS, AND IBISES. 1. Bill grooved along sides from nostril to tip. Ibididee : Ibises, p. 70. 1'. Bill not grooved along sides from nostril to tip. 2, Bill slightly decurved or else inclined upward toward end ; head and part of neck naked. Ciconiidae : Storks and "Wood Ibises, p. 72. 2'. Bill straight and sharp ; neck and most of head feathered. Fig. 15. Ardeidae : Fig. 15. Herons, Bitterns, Egrets, p. 72. 1 ORDER PALUDICOL^ : CRANES, RAILS, COOTS, AND GALLINULES. ^^ 1. Hind toe small and much elevated ; size large, wing 17 or more. Fig-. 10 Gruidae : Cranes, p. 78. 1'. Hind toe long-, nearly on a level with front toes ; size small, wing 10 or less. Fig. 17. Rallidae : Rails, Coots, Gallinules, etc., p. 70. Fig. 17. Fig. 16. ORDER LIMICOL^: SHORE BIRDS. 1, Hind claw, if any, not longer than its toe. 2. Front of tarsus covered with transvei'se scutellse. Fig-. 18. 3. Tarsus very thin, toes with lateral scallops or membranes. Phalaropodidae : Phalaropes, p. 84. 3'. Tarsus rounded, toes without lateral scallops or mem- j,. " jg hranes. 4. Bill slender, longer than middle toe without claw. Scolopacidae : Snipes, Sandpipers, etc.. 4'. Bill stout, not longer than middle toe without claw\ AphrizidaB : Surf Birds and Turnstones, p. 106. 2'. Front of tarsus covered Avith hexagonal or irregular scu- tellaj. Fig. 19. 3. Tarsus more than twice as long as middle toe and claw. Recurvirostridae : Avocets and Stilts, p. 86. 3'. Tar.sus less than twice as long as middle toe and claw. ■ 4. Bill longer than tarsus, laterally compressed and wedge- ^^" shaped . . Haematopodidae : Oyster-catchers, p. 107. 4'. Bill shorter than tarsus, pointed, not laterally compressed. Charadriidae : Plovers, p. 102. 1'. Hind claw longer than its toe ; wing with .spur. Jacanidae : Jacana, p. 108. GREBES 5 ORDER PYGOPODES: DIVING BIRDS. (Families Podigipid.e, Gaviid.e, Alcid^.) FAMILY PODICIPIDiE: GREBES. KEY TO GENERA. 1. Bill long' and slender, tip not decurved. 2. Bill five or more times as long- as depth at base. ^chmophorus, p. 5. 2'. Bill less than four times as long as depth at base. Colynibus, p. (*». r. Bill short and stont, tip of upper mandible decurved. Podilymbus, p. S. GENUS JECHMOPHORUS. 1. ^chmophorus oceidentalis (Lawr.). Western Grebe. Head without side crests; billslendui; neck nearly as Ioiil; as body. Adults : top of head and line down back of neck blackish ; Ixiek slaty gi-ay ; thro.ir and under parts sil- very white. Mull : length 24-"21>, win^ 7.4o-8.50.billLMHt 3.05. Ff^7tiaie: smaller, bill 2.10- 2.48. Distribution. — From tlie Pacific to Manitoba, to British Columbia and Alberta. Nest, — Floating on the water, a raft of tule stems, grass, and water plants, with a slight depression in the centre. Eggs : 4 to "j, white. To find the western grebe at home go to the tule-bordered lakes of eastern Oregon. Creep through the tall grass and part the Miles on the edge of a clear pond, and right before you on the water is the grebe, with its silvery throat, gracefid form, and fiery eye. A sud- den motion of your hand, and the necdk'-liUe bill pierces tlie water and the bird disappears like a flash of liglit, to reappear a U\\\ minute later well beyond siiot gun range from shore. If you make yourself known less suddenly the grebe instead of diving sinks slowly and without a ripple, never to reappear e.xeept far away or in some hidden part of the tules. As you watch t lie birds out in the lake, itoppini; up and remain- ing long enough for a good breath. I ben going below to stay a much 6 GREBES longer time, you wouder what Jthey are finding. If you shoot one, a few tiny bones of minnows in its stomach mixed with the usual ball of feathers from its own breast tell part of the story and ex- plain its mermaid habits, slender head, long neck, and spear-like bill. But to get to the heart of the grebe's home you should wade out where the tules stand up to their necks in water. Here in the damp, saucer-shaped top of a floating island of tule stems, you find the eggs, warm and hastily covered with material from the sides of the nest. There is no bird in sight, but the large size of bo,tli nest and eggs serve to distinguish them from those of the smaller grebes. If you keep still for a little while a slender head and long neck ma}'^ come up out of the water near you and a pair of keen eyes watch you anxiously for a moment, then quickly sink below again, to come up a little later on the other side. The grebes are rarely seen except on the water, but when, after much kicking and spattering, they are fairly launched on the wing, they have a steady rapid flight, and in migration make long jour- neys. Vernon Bailey. GENUS COLYMBUS. General Characters. — Bill straight and sharp, never four times as long- as its depth at base ; neck not nearly as long- as body ; head sometimes crested. KEY TO SPECIES. 1. Size large, bill over 1.50 holboellii. p. 6. V . Size small or medium. 2. Small, bill .82 brachypterus, p. 8. 2'. Medium, bill about 1.00. 3. Bill deeper than wide at base ; head of adult in breeding plumage heavily crested auritus, p. 7. 3'. Bill Avider than deep at base ; head of adult in breeding plumag-e lightly' crested calif ornicus, p. 7. Subgenus Colymbus. 2. Colymbus holboellii {Reinh.). Holbcell Grebe. Bill nearly as long as head ; crests inconspicuous or wanting-. Breeding jjlumage : top of head greenish black ; back blackish, with brown on wings ; sides of head and throat patch white or grayish ; neck rufous ; lower parts washed with white over gray. Winter plumage and young : neck g-ray instead of rufous. Length: 18.00-20.50, wing 7.30-8.10, bill 1.65- 2.40. Distribution. — North America, Greenland, and eastern Asia, breeding north of the United States, migrating south to South Carolina, southern Colorado, and Monterey Bay, California. Nest. — Made of reeds, grass, and mud, attached to growing reeds or masses of dead vegetable matter. Eggs : 4 to 5, EARED GREBE GREBES 7 The Holboell grebe nests in isolated pairs in reeds along the mar- gins of shallow, fish-frequented lakes, preferabl}' in forested country, but also in prairie regions. Subgenus Dytes. 3. Colymbus auritus Linn. Horned Grebe. About the size of the dabchick, but slenderer ; sexes similar ; elieeks and sides of head with crests or ruffs in adults. Breeding plumage : sides of head with yellow tufts of silky feathers, rest of head and tlu-oat black ; upper parts dusky ; lower neck, chest, and sides rufous ; breast silvery white. Winter adults and young : crests .scant or wanting- ; throat white ; sides with little or no rufous. Length: 1 2.50- I-j.^."), wing- about 5.75, bill about .8.5-1.01). Be marks. — The young can usually be distin- guished from young- calif ornicus by the bill, which is liigher than wide at base. Distribution. — Northern part of noi*thern hemi- sphere, breeding- in North America chiefly noi-th of the United States ; migrating- south over the United States. Nest. — Made of reeds, grass, and mud, attached to reeds, or on floating masses of sticks and sedges. In full plumage, with their big crests and mufflers and rich colors, the horned grebes easily rank as the handsomest of their family. In the United States they are seen on their migration journeys usually in small tlocks, late in fall or following close on the retreat- ing ice in spring. In their northern summer home tl 'ir habits are said to be similar to those of other grebes. 4.' Colymbus nigricollis californicus (Heerm.). Eared Grebe. Itrexling plumage. — A fan-sliaped tuft of yellow silky feathers on each side of head ; rest of head, neck, and chest black ; back blackish ; sides l)ro\vn; breast silvery white. Winter plumage and i/oung : upper ])arts and sides dusky ; throat and ear patch white or g-rayish ; bill slender, wider than (lt'<'p at base ; crests wanting-. Length : lli-14, wing- 5.;'.0, bill 1. Distribution. — Western North America, east to the Mississip])i, north to (heat Slave Lake, south to Guatemala, breeding- throughout most of its range. ^V^'.s-^ — Floating on shallow water in ponds or lakes ; made of rushes. Eggs : 4 to (5, .soiled white. In the Great Basin country where tall tules grow half way across soini! of the big shallow lakes, the cared grebes have made their homes for ages, rai-sing their young in peace and as much quiet as the cackling of coots and rails, the quacking of ducks, and laughing of stilts and avocets would allow. Out in the open j^onds diving for minnows, gliding among the dark tule stems, or brooding on their Moating nests and caring for their downy black chicks, they have 8 GREBES been comparatively safe from enemies, and year after year have gone south when the lakes froze over and come back again with the warm spring days. But this life of primitive security was rudely broken into when their beautiful silvery breasts and rich brown sides attracted the attention of the plume hunters, and within five or six years the demand for their skins for hats, muffs, and capes has grown so great as to threaten the species, and with it several other species of grebes, with extermination. Hunters go to the breeding-grounds and shoot the old birds when bold in defense of their eggs and young, stripping off their skins and shipping them in thousands to the cities. Unless some wise law intervenes, these harmless, beauti- ful spirits of the lake will soon have disappeared from the face of the earth. Yehnon Bailey. Subgenus Podiceps. 5. Colymbus dominicus brachypterus Chapm. Least Grebe. A tiny dusky orohp. about lialf as big- as the clabchick ; bill black, tipped with whitish. Adults : top of head and back dull greenish black ; chin and tliroat blackish ; sides of neck and head plumbeous ; breast mottled silvery p^ 22. S'l-ay. Wing : S.80, hill .S2. Distribution. — From Panama north to southern Texas and Lower California. Nest. — On water, floating- among- the rushes. Eggs : usually 7. These tiny grebes are as common in the ponds of southern Texas as the dabchick in the north. In open Avater they bob on the little waves, and in quiet pools where the willows overhang the banks swim and dive among the sedges and pink water-lilies. When not seeking food below the surface of the water, they usually keep close to some cover, and in the middle of the day if not hidden in the sedges are found sitting close under the shore grass, or in the shade of a bush or low-hanging tree. Vernon Bailey. GENUS PODILYMBUS. 6. Podilymbus podiceps (L/wr?.). Pied-billed Grebe : Dabchick. Bill short and stout, head not crested. Breeding plumage : bill whitish, crossed by a black band ; upper parts blackish ; chin and throat black ; breast mottled silvery gray. Winter plumage : bill brownish, with paler lower mandible ; chin, throat, and breast whitish. Young : head and neck more or less striped with brown, black, and white. Length : 12-15, wing 4.n0-5.00, bill about .87. Distribution. — North and South America, except extreme northern and southern parts, breeding throughout most of its range. LOONS 9 Nest. — A floating- or anchored raft of water-soaked plant stems among- tules in shallow water. Eggs : 4 to 8, soiled whitish. Every boy who has carried a gun and crept through tall grass to the edges of ponds and lakes, or has followed the creeks, cutting from bend to bend, and peering cautiously up stream and down, has found himself more than once face to face with a little gray duck, — only it was n't a duck — which when he raised his. gun dived just as he pulled the trigger, so the shot scattered over the sur- face of the water. No amount of waiting or searching the banks did any good, — the bird was never seen again, dead or alive. There was a mystery about it, and when some one older and wiser than he told him it was a water witch or hell diver, the mystery was only half solved. Where did it go? How could it stay under water through the half hour that he waited for it to come to the surface ? Had he been just around the next bend he might possibly have seen a gray bill and a pair of dark eyes that came up out of the water close to the bank, stayed just long enough for a good bAath of air, and then disappeared for another long swim below the surface. Fortunately for the dabchick, its dress is all in dull colors, and as no one wants to borrow its plumes it may be hoped that, like the poor, the little plebeian may be always with us. Vernon Bailey. FAMILY GAVIIDiE : LOONS. GENUS GAVIA. General Characters. — Tail feathers short and stiff ; front toes fully webbed, hind toe small ; head and neck velvety, never crested. KEY TO SPECIES. 1. Tarsus longer than inner toe and claw lumme. p. 11. r. Tarsus shorter than inner toe and claw. 2. Head and neck black imber. p. *.). 2'. Back of head and neck .smoky gray. l]. Larger, wing- 12.5r>, hack of liead daik gray . . arctica. p. 10. .'I'. Smaller, wing 11.54. back of head light gray • • pacifica. p. 10. 7. Gavia imber (r,'M»n.). Loon: Tikkat Nokthern Divek. Adults ill summer plitiiiage. — Head and neck velvety black, glossc !•:, I-.\HII).K. KT< .) FAMILY STFRCORARIIDiE: JAEGERS. ETC GENUS STERCORARIUS. Cifmrnl Cfidrartfrs. — Bill stronuly h, depth of bill at angle .S.')-.*!,-,. ' D'strihiitiou. — Pacific coast froiu iJritish Columbia to Cape St. Luca.s, Lower C.alifornia. Nest. — A depression in seaweed. F.ggs : usually ;!. light grayi.sh olive, spotted with shades of brow n and lilac. 22 GULLS AND TERNS The western gull is abundant on the California' coast at all seasons. At San Pedro harbor it is protected by law as a useful scavenger, and at Monterey Bay is so fearless that the young will alight within a few feet of the fishing boats to get what the fishermen throw out. On the Farallone Islands the birds assume another role. As Mr. Loomis says, " a more vagabond set of gulls than the western gulls inhabiting South Farallone Island during the egg season could scarcely be found. They are arrant thieves, robbing the murres wherever they have the opportunity." Before the murre egg indus- try was stopped they took an excited part in the collections. Mr. Loomis, speaking of it at the time, says that "when the eggers appear on the scenes the gulls congregate and soon a large flock is formed, circling about overhead with loud cries, eagerly waiting the flight of the murres to join in the pillage. When exceptionally hungry the gulls are said to suddenly descend in a compact flock among the murres, frightening them from the eggs. One gull was seen trying to steal an egg from under a murre. The murre gave a reproachful squack and with a thrust of the bill drove the gull away." But though the gulls enjoyed the raids of the eggers, they suf- fered by them, for before the murres began to lay, the men took gulls' eggs to supply the market ; and when the murre harvest was ripe, recognizing the gulls as rival eggers, the men destroyed both their eggs and young. In addition to fish and eggs, the gulls eat sea-urchins, crabs, young murres, and rabbits. '^^hey congregate at South Farallone Island the first of April, Mr. Bryant tells us, and proceed to nest in small colonies. It takes them two weeks to repair their old nests, and even after the first egg is laid they may be seen carrying Farallone weed to the nest. 51. Larus argentatUS Brllnn. Herring Gull. Adults in summer. — Mantle delicate pearl gray ; five outer primaries black toward ends, and tipped with white ; a distinct gray wedge on inner web of second quill ; rest of plumage white ; bill yellow, with red spot near end of lower mandible ; feet pale flesh color. Adults in winter : head and neck streaked with grayish. Young : brownish gray ; head and neck streaked with white ; back mottled with buffy and gray ; quills and tail blackish ; bill dusky, feet purplish. Length : 22.50-26.00, wing 17.24, bill 2.24, depth of bill throixgh angle of lower mandible .68-.85. Distribution. — Northern hemisphere, including the whole of North America ; south in winter to Cuba and Lower California ; breeding from the Great Lakes northward. Nest. — On rocks or in trees, made mainly of grass, seaweed, and earth. Eggs: usually o, from pale olive drab to greenish or bluish white, irregu- larly spotted with lilac, yellowish, or brown, markings usually thickest about larger end. The herring gulls are abundant in the bays of San Francisco and GULLS AND TERNS 23 Monterey in winter and common down the coast to San Diego. In the harbors they alight on tlie masts and fly about the vessels, often following them thirty or forty miles from land. Their name probably comes from the conmiotion they make at sight of a school of herring or other little lish. As they follow the small fry about, the tishermeu often take them for pilots and follow to get the larger tish which are in pursuit of the little ones. 52. Larus vegse (Palmen). Vega Gull. Like (iryentdtus, but mantle darker, deep pearl or plumbeous gray ; feet pale flesh color. Size about as in aryentatus. Distribution. — ISouthern Europe and Central Asia to Japan and Bering- Sea, and down the coast of North America in winter to California. Mr. Kobbe, in The Auk (xix. 19), after examining a large num- ber of specimens, concludes that vega' and aryentatus are identical, but as there is a difference of opinion as to its validity, the species is included on what seems to be its only character, the slightly darker mnntle. 53. Larus californicus Lawr. California Gull. Adults. — Mantle clear bluish gray; outer primaries black, tipped with white, the first two with subterminal white spots; a distinct gray wedge on inner web of second ; bill yellow, with red and black spot near end of lower mandible ; feet greenish. Youny : upper parts coarsely spotted and uKjttled with dusky, buffy, grayish, and whitish ; under parts mottled and streaked ; quills and tail blackish ; bill dusky, with black tip. Lenyt/i : 20-2:), ^\u^g: ir,.00-l<).T."), bill l.()5-2.15, depth of 'bill at angle .G0-.7-'). Distribution . — Western North America from Alaska to Mexico, chiefly in the interior. ^ Mr. Loomis says that in the matter of numbers near Monterey in midwinter the California gull ranks with its larger congeners the glaucous-winged and the western. Mr. Grinnell finds it common along the southern coast, wdiere it frequents the fresh-water marshes, and he has seen it on the Los Angeles river- bottoms. At Pescadero in the low fields near the ocean liundreds have been seen following the plough. 54. Larus delawarensis On/. Rinc-billed Gull. Adults. — Mantb; light pearl gray ; bill greenish yellow, crossed near end by a distinct ])hu'k band, tip yellow or orange ; eyelids vermilion, iris pale yellow; feet i>alt' yellow, sonu'times tinged with greenish. Youny: upper parts dusky, feathers bordered and marked with grayish buff or whitish ; under ])arts white. si)otted along- sides witli grayisli l)r(>wn ; (inills blackish, tli«' sliortcr ones grav at base and ti])ped with wliite ; base of tail gray, outer half lilackisli.'tipi)ed with white. Ltuqth: IS-'JO, wing- lo.^O-l'i.T-"), bill l.-M-I.T."). deptli at angle of lower mandii)le ^O-.iSTy. Distribution. — Whole of North America, breeding as far south as Colorado, but mainly north of the United States ; migrating south to Cuba and Mexit'o. Ni'St. — On the ground, made of dry grass. Kyys : usually ".. 24 GULLS AND TERNS Mr. Grinnell reports the ring-billed gull as tolerably common along the coast in midwinter, and Mr. Loomis has taken a few at Monterey. In Colorado they are the only gulls found abundantly throughout the state. Professor Cooke says they are very common in the fall migration on all bodies of water below 9000 feet, and he has found them breeding at the San Luis Lakes at an altitude of 7500 feet. Colonel Goss says that he has often seen the gulls on fall after- noons sailing and circling about in the air, catching grasshoppers and beetles. 55. Larus brae hyrhynchus i?icA. Short-billed Gull. Adults in sunnner. — Mantle light pearl gray ; rest of plumage, except quills, white ; outer primary mainly black, with a large Avhite spot near end ; second primary with a smaller white spot, white tip, and wedg-e of gray on inner web ; third with white tip and a larg-e white space on inner web between gray and black ; bill greenish, w ith yellow tip ; feet and legs greenish. Adults in winter: head, neck, and chest mottled with dusky. Youny : upper parts grayish brown, feathers bordered with j)ale grayish buff ; head, neck, and lower parts brownish gray ; tail gray at base, brownish gray toward end, and narrowly tipped with white. Length: lG.50-bS.00, wing 18.95, bill 1.45, depth of 'bill at angle .40-.50. Distribution. — Western North America, breeding far north ; south in winter to southern California. Nest. — On an islet, in a lake or pond, bulky, made of grasses and mosses. Eggs : 2 or 8. Mr. Loomis has found the short-billed gull common on both the bay and ocean about Point Pinos in winter. 56. Larus canus Linn. Mew Gull. Adults. — Similar in general appearance to hrachyrhynchus, but with inner webs of two outer quills mainly black behind the subterminal white spots, and third quill mainly black except for small white tip. Length : 17.00- 18.50, wing 14.C0-14.50. bill 1.85-1.60, depth of bill at angle .38- .50. Distribution. — Northern Europe and Asia ; found in Labrador (?) and at San Francisco Bay. The mew gull w^as formerly supposed to be confined almost entirely to Europe and Asia, but Mr. Loomis finds that it is common on the California coast in winter. 57. Larus heermanni Cass. Heermann Gull. Adults i» su!rn)irr. — V,\\\ bright red; head and upper neck white ; back sooty gray, secondaries tipped with white ; prima- ries and tail black, tail tipped with white ; under parts dark gray. Adults in ^^' " winter : head darker than body, otherwise as in summer. Young : sooty gray, feathers of upper parts bordered with whitish or pale buff ; or, entire plumage sooty gray except blackish tail and quills. Length : 17.50-21.00, wing 13.50, bill 1.50. GULLS AND TERNS 25 Distribution. — Pacific coast of North America from British Columbia to Panama. Heerniciun gulls are generally common winter visitors in southern California. At Montere}^ Mr. Loomis has taken careful notes of their migratory movements. In May they were rare, in June adults were still scarce, but the latter half of the month immature birds were common. By the middle of July adults were abundant, and before August there was a great inroad of the dark-plumaged birds. Toward the end of August the western and Heermann gulls appeared to be of about equal abundance, and in November their flights rivaled or exceeded those of the western gull. Mr. Grinnell says that on the coast near Los Angeles where the fishermen draw" their seines along the beaches, clouds of gulls are usually attracted, about half of the flocks being Heermann and a (piarter western gulls. 58. Larus atricilla Linn. Laughing Gull. Adults in summer. — Head slaty black, mantle bluish gray ; rest of plum- age, except quills, white ; three outer quills black, the fourth and fifth lilack towards ends, all but first usually with very small white spot at tip ; bill and feet dark red. Adults in ivinter : head mainly white with dusky around eyes and on back of liead. Young : upper parts mottled grayish brown ; breast smoky gray ; u])per tail coverts white, base of tail gray, outer third black, narrowly tipped with whitish ; wing quills black. Length: 15-17. wing- lo, bill 1.7-"J, tarsus 2. Remarks. — The young of the laughing gull may be distinguished from Franklin and Bonaparte by its large size, longer bill, and wider black tail band. Distribution, -r Atlantic and Gulf coast of United States and Pacific coast of Mexico ; south in winter to the Amazon. Recorded from Col- orado. Nest. — In trees, four to twenty feet from the ground, generally made of small sticks, lined with hay and moss. 59. Larus franklinii Sir. <\- liir/i. Fk.\nklin Gull. Adults in summer. — Bill bright red, with darker sub- terminal band ; head plum- beous black; eyelids white; mantle dark slaty ; (piills gray, tipped with white, the five outer with subterniiiial Mack s]);ices ; under parts wliitt'. deeply tinted with rose l)ink. Adults in irinter : he.-id ni.iinly white, with sides and , It.ick grayish dusky. Yonnii : lop and sides of head Jiiid liaek grayish brown ; (piills I „., dusky, tipped with white ; tail Fig. 4a. 1 26 GULLS AND TERNS Fig. 44. Wing of Franklin Gull. with subterminal band of dusky ; rest of tail, under parts, forehead, and eyelids white. Length : 13.50-15.G0, wing 11.25, bill 1.80, tarsus 1.60. Distribution. — Interior of North America, breeding- from Iowa north into Canada ; migrating- south to Peru. Nest. — On broken-down riashesin shal- low water, made larg-ely of grasses and rushes. Eggs : usually 3. In the northern plains and prairie country Franklin gulls are of the greatest economic importance, the immense flocks living mainly on grasshoppers and other destructive insects. At times a white horde will descend upon a ploughed field, a baud of them following at the heels of the ploughman, while long white lines cover the mellow furrows. Recognizing the ploughman as a friend, the birds only get out of his way to let him pass, waiting for him to turn up a fresh supply of food for them. In Utah their services are so well appreciated that Brigham Young used to offer up prayers that they be sent to destroy the grasshoppers that infested the laud. One often sees flocks of fifty to five hundred catching grasshoppers on the wing, wheeling, diviog, and rising, till at a distance the white flock suggests a wild flurry of snow flakes. When the meal is over the birds disband, to scatter out among the sloughs, drift on lazy wings over the lakes, or float idly on the surface of the water. Vernon Bailey. 60. Larus Philadelphia (Ord). Bonaparte Gull. Adults in Slimmer. — Bill and head black ; mantle delicate pearl gray ; three outer quills chiefly white, outer web of the first, and terminal portion of all, black ; tail and under parts white ; feet orange red. Adults in winter : liead white, tinged with gray behind and with a du.sky spot on ear coverts ; feet pale flesh color. Young : top of head, back, and spot on ear coverts dusky ; sides of head, neck, and under parts white, in- cluding tail coverts and base of tail ; band across end of tail blackish, feathers tipped with white. Length : 12- 14, wing 10.25, bill 1.20. Distribution. — North America, breeding far northward ; south to western Mexico. Mr. Henshaw states that the Bonaparte gull is not uncommon in San Diego Bay in December, though he thinks it winters mainly to the southward. Mr. Loomis has seen the gulls at Monterey during their migrations in November and May. He says that "although white-throated birds with the tail-band were in the majority, and pied-headed ones Fig. 45. GULLS AND TERNS 27 were plentiful, every flock had adults iu nuptial plumage, showing that the young are not without experienced leaders on the return north. " GENUS XEMA. 62. Xema sabinii (Sab.). Sabine Gull. Bill gull-like, tail conspicuously forkerl, the feathers rounded, not nar- row and pointed at ends, ^idult.s in suininer : head and upper neck dark plundjeous. bordered below by a black collar ; man- tle slaty gray ; tail and middle of wing- white ; outer quills Fig. 4G. black, with inner webs and tips white ; under parts white ; bill black, tipped, with yellow. Adults in ivinter : head and neck white, with dusky on ear coverts and back of head. Yoiuiy : like winter adults, but mantle brownish, feathers with buffy or grayish edges ; tail with a subterminal black band, white tip ' Fig. 4i. and base; bdl black. Length: l;]-14, wing 10.10-11.15, bill l.UU, tail 4.0O-.5.OO. fork .(1()-1.00 deep. Distribution. — Arctic regions of North America ; south in winter to Peru. Not common in the United States, but recorded from many scat- tered localities. Eygs. — Laid on the ground, or on a few grass blades and stems ; 2 to 5, olive, indistinctly spotted with brown. GENUS GELOCHELIDON. 63. Gelochelidon nilotica (llasse/q.). Gull-hillld Tep.n. Bill stout, depth at base equal to one third of its length ; tail forked. Adults in smnmer : top and back of head black ; upper parts light pearl gray ; lower parts white ; bill black ; feet and legs blackish. ^Idults in winter : head and neck white ; ear coverts and spot in front of eye gray. Youny : similar to winter adults, but u})per parts washed with buffy and .sometimes streaked with duskv. Length: l.j.00-15. 25, wing 11, 75-12. lio, bill 1.40, tail 5.50. forked for 1..j0-1.75. Distribution. — Almost cosmopolitan. In America from Brazil to Massa- chusetts along the Atlantic coast, and both coasts of Mexico and Central America ; rare inland. GENUS STERNA. General Characters. — Bill slender and sharp ; tail dei-jdy forked, the outer feathers narrowed or sharp-pointed ; wings vej'y long and slender. KKV TO SPECIES. 1 . Black feathers of crown elongated into a cre.st. 2. Size large, wing- 14-15 maxima, p. 2S. 2. Size smaller, wing 1 2.40-1 2..50 elegaus. p. 29. r. Head not crested. 2. Size largf, feet black Caspia, p. 28. 2'. Size small, feet red. orange, or yellow. 8. ('h)wn and forehi^ad black in summer adults, wing over '.'. 4. Outer web of outer tail feather white . . . foisteri, p. 29. 4'. Outer web of outer tail featlu*r dusky. 5. Bill orange, witli black ti]) hirundo. p. 29. 5'. Bill vermilion, without hhuk lip . . paradiscea, j). .'50. .".' Forehead always white, wing untUi- 7 . . antillarum. )>. .">0. 28 GULLS AND TERNS Subgenus Thalasseus. 64. Sterna caspia Pall. Caspian Tern. Tail not very deeply forked, the outer feathers pointed, but not much narrowed; bill red, feet black. Breeding plumage : crown and back of head .black ; mantle lig-ht gray ; wing-s darker gray, the outer quills tipped with black. Winter plumage: black of head streaked with white. Young : crown grayish, mixed with black posterioi'ly ; back and tail feathers with dusky spots. Length : 19.00-22.50, wing 1.5.00-17.40, bill 2.48-3.10, tail 5.30-6.75, forked for .75-1.60. Distribution. — North America at large, breeding in isolated localities. Nest. — In hollow in the sand. JEggs : usually 3. But for their long wings, slender forms, and forked tails, the Cas- pians, the largest of our terns, could easily be mistaken for gulls. Their flight is quicker and stronger, however, and their black crowns usually conspicuous. They are eminently social in the breeding season, nesting in large colonies, and it is no uncommon sight to see several hundred of them lined up on a sandy lake beach, with the waves rippling in at their feet. After the breeding season they scat- ter out and wander widely over the country. Vernon Bailey. Subgenus Actochelidon. 65. Sterna maxima Bodd. Royal Tern. Crest of long pointed feathers on back of head ; tail long and forked for half its length ; inner webs of quills broadly margined with white ; bill orange red, feet black. Breeding jjlumage : upper parts light pearl gray, top and back of head, inchiding crest, black ; under parts white. Post- breeding plumage : forehead and fore part of crown white. Winter jilvm- age : white mixed with black on back of liead. Young : crown speckled with white and dusky, crest only slightly developed ; upper parts and tail feathers with spots of dusky. Length : 18-21, wing 14-15, bill 2.40- 2.75, tail 6-8, forked for 3-4. Distribution. — Coasts and larger lakes of the United States, mainly southward. FORSTER TERN GULLS AND TERNS 29 Mr. Looniis has foiiml the royal tern decidedly common at times during the winter at Monterey, and Mr. Grinuell reports it as very numerous around Catalina Island in winter, and more or less com- mon along the coast throughout the year. 66. Sterna elegans Gamb. Elegant Tern. Like S. maxima, but smaller, with longer crest, and under parts deeply tinged with rose pink. Length : 10-17, wing 12.40-12.50, bill 2.25-2.55, tail (100-7.00, forked for about 2.00-3.50. Distribution. — Pacific coast of middle America, and north to San Francisco. Mr. Loomis has found the elegant terns at Monterey in autunm, but in smaller numbers than the royal tern. Subgenus Sterna. 69. Sterna forsteri Nutt. Fokster Tern. Outer tail feathers very narrow and long. Adults in summer: under parts white ; upper parts light pearl gray, top of head black ; outer web of outer tail feather white ; feet orange red, bill dull orange, dusky at tip. Adults in winter : top of head white, back of head tinged with gray, a dusky stripe around eye and across ear coverts ; bill and feet duller colored. Yoiukj: upper parts, crown, and sides of head washed Avith brown- ish ; tail feathers dusky toward ends. Length : 14-15, wing 0. 50-10.30, bill 1.50-1.05, tail 5.00-7.70, forked for 2.30^5.00. IHstribution. — Breeds in the United States north to Manitoba, south in winter to Brazil. Nest. — A hollow in the sand lined with grasses, or a rude nest in marsh grass or on raft of floating tule stems. Eyys : 1 to 3, bluish green to olive buff, marked with lilac and brown. Low over the lakes, sloughs, and big tule marshes, you see these graceful terns beating the air with long, soft strokes of their narrow wings, while the sharp bill points downward, and the eyes are intent on the surface of the water. If a minnow shows so much as a fm, there is a quick dive, a splash, and a gulp — the minnow has disappeared and the tern is beating over the water again, now skim- ming close to the surface, now lighting daintily on it to pick up some ch()i(;e morsel. Sometimes a large number of terns are at- tracted by a school of minnows, and an animated diving and splash ing ensues. Enter the terns' breeding grounds, or wound one of their number, and the airy creatures, all soft silent grace before, storm about you with threafening swoops and harsh, piercing screams. Vkunon Bah.ky. 70. Sterna hirundo IJnn. Common Tern. Outer wfb of outer tail feather dusky, inner web white. Adults in sum- iinr: bill aiul feet l)riglit oraug(> red, tlu* bill tii)ped with black; toj) of head black ; mantle light pearl gray ; tail and its coverts mainly white ; throat white, brea.st light gray. Adults in ivinter : crown mainly whitt' ; under j)arts pure white ; bill and feet dtiller. Yount/ : nuirked with 30 GULLS AND TERNS blackish around eyes and on back of head ; forehead and under parts white ; back light gray with buffy edgings to feathers and dusky spots on wings ; bill and feet brownish or pale reddish. Length: 13-16, wing 9.75- 11.75, bill 1.25-1.50, tail 5-7, forked for about 3.50. Distribution. — Greater part of northern hemisphere ; in America mainly east of the plains ; south to Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Lower California. Nest. — Made of grasses or seaweeds, or eggs laid on the bare rock, or in a depression in the sand. Eggs : 2 to 4, pale bluish to greenish drab, with lilac shell markings and rather evenly distributed spots of brown. The common terns are mainly birds of the Atlantic coast, and together with other terns and gulls have been so sought after by plume hunters and eggers that a few years ago they were on the road to extermination. The Bird Protection Committee of the American Ornithologists' Union took up the matter, however, and by the ap- pointment of wardens to protect the birds on their breeding grounds, and by protective laws enacted in the states w^here the terns occur, succeeded in rescuing the birds, which, in addition to their useful work as scavengers, give life and beauty to otherwise barren shores. 71. Sterna paradissea J^riinn. Arctic Tern. Outer web of outer tail feather dusky, rest of tail white. Adults in summer : bill and feet bright vermilion, bill without black tip ; top of head black, bordered by white superciliary ; body clear deep gray. Adults in winter : under parts white, or tinged with grayish ; forehead white, rest of crown streaked with black. Young : similar to young of hirundo, but with breast and throat washed with dull broAvnish. Length : 14:-17, wing 10.00- 10.75, bill 1.08-1.40, tail 6.50-8.50, forked for 4-5. Distribution. — Mainly cireumpolar regions; south in winter to Massa- chusetts, Colorado, and California, breeding in Massachusetts and Quebec. Nest. — A bare spot on the ground, sometimes with a little grass. Eggs : 1 to 3. Subgenus Sternula. 74. Sterna antillarum(Z.e.ss.). Least Tern. Breeding plumage. — Upper parts pearl gray, with black lores and black on top and back of head ; two or three outer quills mainly dusky ; forehead superciliary, and under parts white. Adults in winter : crown grayish, whole forehead white. ^*S" Young : like adults in winter but with brownish on back, and with U or Y-shaped margins to part of feathers. Length : 8.50-9.75. wing 6.60. bill 1.20. tail 3.50, forked for about 1.75. Distribution. — United States from California, Dakota, the Great Lakes, and Massachusetts south to northern South America. Eggs. — 2 to 4, buff to cream white, spotted about the larger end with brown and lilac ; laid in a depression in the sand on an island or sand beach. The least tern is abundant along the coast of southern California in summer, arriving, Mr. Grinuell says, about the middle of April and leaving usually the latter part of August. He slates that it nests abundantly in suitable places along the seacoast, generally on GULLS AND TERNS 31 a strip oi" sandy beach separating the surf from the tide marsh. Colonel Goss, speaking of the terns of Kansas, saj's : " These little beauties, the smallest of the family, flit through the air like swal- lows, darting here or there for an insect, or suddenly stopping to hover, like hawks or kingfishers, over a school of minnows or shrimp, ready to drop on the first that comes to the surface." GENUS HYDROCHELIDON. 77. Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis (GmeL). American Black Tern. Web of feet reaching- only to middle of toes. Adults in breed inff plum- age: head, neck, wings, and breast black ; tail slaty gray ; nnder tail coverts Avliite ; bill and feet black. Winter plumage : bead, neck, and under parts white, orbital ring- and ^' '"• '*'^'- ear coverts dusky ; upper parts blue gray. In late summer the white and black feathers are mixed on the breast. Young : similar to winter adults, but with edges of scapulars brown, and crown and back of liead dusky. Length: 9.00-10.25. wing S.2.J. bill l.Kl. tail o.75. forked for .90. J distribution. — Temperate part of North America, and south to Brazil and Chili. Nest. — Usually on dead floating rushes in shallow Avater, sometimes on the bare ground, or on an old muskrat house or a water-soaked log ; made of reeds, wild rice, and grasses, and lined with leaves and fine stems. Eggs: 2 to 4, greenish drab to olive brown, spotted with blackish brown. The first sight of Ilydrochelidon in the breeding season is an amaz- ing one, for as you see the tern-like form approaching across a lake your imagination clothes it in white, but •when it reaches you — lo ! its fore parts are jet black. Another surprise comes, when, associat- ing its kin with wide lakes and ocean shores, you find one beating over a patch of marsh between the angles of a meadow brook, or circling over a pool in a barnyard ! But, in spite of the shocks given your preconceived ideas, this swallow-like tern excites your keenest interest, and whether on the prairies of Texas or in tbe valleys of the iiigli Sierra, you soon find yourself eagerly watching for the strange l)ir(l, and every landscape graced by its form goes down to memory with a charm all its own. 32 ALBATROSSES ORDER TUBINARES : TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS. (Families Diomedeid^ and Procellariid^.) FAMILY DIOMEDEIDiE: ALBATROSSES. KEY TO GENERA. 1. Sides of lower mandible with deep longitudinal groove ; tail long' and graduated. Phoebetria, p. o3, r. Sides of lower mandible without longitudinal groove ; tail short and rounded. 2. A wide stxip of bare skin from nasal tube to forehead . . . Thalassogeroii, p. :>}. 2'. Hard plates of top and sides of bill meeting between nasal tubes and forehead. Diomedea, p. 32. GENUS DIOMEDEA. General Characters. — The horny plate on top of bill widened back of nostrils and meeting the plate on side of bill ; wings very long- ; tail short, not reaching tip of folded wings ; size that of a large goose. Fig. 51 KEY TO SPECIES. 1. Feet, bill, and most of plumage, dusky or blackish r. Feet and bill yellow, plumage mainly white in adult nigripes, p. aibatrus, p. 81. Diomedea nigripes ^Imc/. Black-footed Albatross. Adults. — Face and chin whitish, top of head and rest of upper parts blackish, except for whitish tail coverts and base of tail ; under parts sooty gi'ay ; bill dusky, feet black. Young: face with less white, and upper tail coverts dusky. Length : 28.50-36.0D, wing 18.50-20.50, bill 4.00-4.25. Distribution. — North Pacific, abun- dant from southern California to Alaska. Fig. 52. Mr. Loomis once saw an albatross at Monterey Bay when there was a heavy sea on, but most of the birds keep out to sea, where they are known to the fishermen as ' goonies.' 82. Diomedea aibatrus Pall. Short-tailed Albatross. Adults. — Mainly white, but head and neck washed with yellowish, tail and most of wings dusky, primaries with yellow shafts ; bill and feet yellowish. Young : plumage sooty brown, darker on head and neck ; primary shafts yellowish. Length : o:3-o7, wing 22-23, bill 5.50-5.60. Distribution. — North Pacific from southern California to Alaska, but mainly northward. unlike the black-footed, is so shy that FULMARS AND SHEARWATERS 33 instead of following vessels for food it usually gives a vride berth to any .species of sailing craft. At Monterey, in stormy winter weather, Mr. Loomis has seen some of the birds in the bay. The largest number he has recorded from the region were seen off Point Pinos, a dozen beini>- counted in an hour. GENUS THALASSOGERON. [83.] Thalassogeron culminatus {Gould). Yellow-nosed Alba- tross. Hoi-ny plate on top of bill not widened back of nostrils ; a strip of soft skin between top and side plates ; size of a large goose, ^[dtilts : head, neck, and shoulders gray, shading- into blackish of back, wings, and tail ; under parts white ; bill l>lack on sides, bordered above and below with yellow. Letiyth : ;>")-o7, wing 17.75-21.00, bill 4.85-4.50, tail 8-0. Distributio)i. — Southern oceans, north casually to coast of Oregon and Gulf of St. Lawrence. GENUS PHCEBETRIA. 84. Phoebetria fuliginosa (GmeL). Sooty Albatross. Tail long and graduated, reaching' well beyond tips of folded wings ; size large. Adults : eyelids white, area around eyes blackish ; sides of head and throat sooty ; rest of under parts light smoky gray ; back of neck and back smoky gray ; wing- and tail sooty ; bill black, feet yellowish. Young {?): upper parts blackish except for slaty gray on middle of back ; ixnder parts slatv gray. Length : o4-;57, wing- 20.00- 21.50, extent 78-84. tail 10.50-i;}.00. Distribution. — South Pacific, north (casually) to coast of Oregon. FAMILY PROCELLARIIDiE : FULMARS AND SHEARWATERS. KEY TO OENEKA. 1. Wing 17 or more, tail feathers 1(5 . . . Ossifraga, p. o4. 1. Wing^ 15 or less, tail feathers 12-14. ^i 2. Wing: 7 or less, tail forked . . . Oceanodroma, p. ;>7. Fig. 54. 2'. Wing- *.) or more, tail not forked. 3. Nasal tubes opening- separately, with i)ai-ti(ioii ;is wide as opening Pllffinus, ]). oO. Ij'. Na.sal tubes opening- together and inclosing a thin par- tition between nostrils. 4. Kill short and stout, about twice as long- as depth at base F'ulmarus, p. ;J4. :- o 4.' Hill long and sleiulcr, over twice as long- as dcptli at „. .. S base Priocella, p. 34. *ig. bo. ' ^ 34 FULMARS AND SHEARWATERS GENUS OSSIFKAGA. [85.] Ossifraga gigantea (GmeL). Giakt Fulmar. Nasal tubes occupying- more than half the length of bill ; tail feathers 10 ; size of a large goose. Light phase : sometimes almost entirely white, but g"en- erally with head, neck, and under parts white, and upper parts dusky ; bill light yellowish. Dark phase : uniform sooty brown, sometimes whitish around base of bill ; bill olive yellowish or grayish. Fig. 56. Length : 30-36, wing 17-21, bill 3.50-4.00, extent of wings 72-84. Distribution. — Southern seas, casually north to coast of Oregon. GENUS rULMARUS. Subgenus Fulmarus. KEY TO SPECIES. 1. Upper parts plain gray or dusky glupischa, p. 34. 1'. Upper parts gray, marked with white rodgersi, p. 34. 86b. Flumarus glacialis glupischa Stejn. Pacific Fulmak. Bill sliort and stout, wider than deep at base, nasal tubes occupying about half the length of bill and opening as one tube ; nasal tubes and tip of bill yellow. Light phase : head, neck, and under parts white ; upper parts bluish gray, with quills darker. Bark phase : whole plumage deep sooty plumbeous. Length : 17-19, wing 11.90-12.35, bill 1.3.5-1.65. Distribution. — North Pacific, south along the American coast to Mexico. Nest. — On high cliffs and promontories. Eggs : white. Mr. Loomis states thai when au ' oil slick ' appeared ou the ^lon- terey Bay at one time, he counted over a hundred Pacific fulmars and several Rodgers fulmars scattered in groups apparently feeding on a slimy substance floating on the surface of the oil. 86.1. Fulraarus rodgersi Cass. Rodgers Fulmar. Similar to the light phase of glupischa, but bluish gray of upper parts broken by mixture of white. No dark phase known. Wing: 12.10-12.90, bill 1.40-1.60, depth of bill at base .65-75. Distribution. — North Pacific from Bering Sea south to Monterey Bay. Egg. — Soiled white, laid on the bare rock. GENUS PRIOCELLA. 87. Priocella glacialoides (Smith). Slender-billed Fulmar. Bill slender, deeper than wide at base ; nasal tubes not reaching middle of bill ; nasal tubes and tip of bill black. Adults : head, neck, and under parts whitish or light gray ; back and wings light pearl gray, the quills darker, with inner webs mainly Avhite. Length : 18.00-18.50, wing 13, bill 1.75-2.10, depth of bill at base .65. Distribution. — Southern seas, north along Pacific Fig. 57. coast to Vancouver Island. FULMARS. AND SHEARWATERS 35 GENUS PUFFINUS. General Characters. — Nasal tubes united and resting on base of bill, not reaching- to middle ; nostrils visible from above ; the partition between them as wide or wider than nostril. KEY TO SPECIES. 1. Under parts white or gravish. 2. Bill 2.G0 ....." bulleri, p. 36. 2'.Bill imder 1.70. 3. Larger, wing about 13 creatopus, p. 35. 3. Smaller, wing- about *.> opisthomelas, p. 35. 1'. Under parts dark sooty gray. 2. Larger, wing over 11, bill over 1.55 griseus. p. 36. 2'. Smaller, wing under 11, bill under 1.28 . . . tenuirostris, p. 37. 91. PufiB.nus creatopus Coues. Pink-footed Shearwater. Breast and throat white, shading into brownish gray of upper parts and under tail coverts; bill yellowish, feet flesh color. Length: 11), wing 12.5(3-13.25, bill l.(;0-1.7(K Distribution. — Eastern Pacific Ocean from Monterey, California, south to Chili. At Monterey 3Ir. Loomis has found the pink-footed shearwater abundant in June, and in November has seen as many as two hun- dred in a day. In migrating, be says, their flight is not as direct as that of the black-vented and dark-bodied. They circle frequently and cross their tracks, much as swallows are wont to do Avhen mi- grating singly or in small companies. 93. Puffinus opisthomelas Cmies. Black-vented Shearwater. I'pper parts sooty gray, lighter on head and neck ; under parts white, except for sooty under tail coverts. Length : 12.25-15.00, wing U.OO-O.IO, tail 3.2.5-3.S0, bill 1.30-1.42. Distribution. — Pacific Ocean from coast of Lower California north to Vancouver Island. A set of opisfhoindas eggs was taken at Santa Barbara Island in 1873, and Mr. Anthony thinks the birds not uncommon on some of the smaller outlying islands. Their presence along the coast of southern and Lower California, he says, seems to depend on the food supply. They are always common, but less so during the breeding .sea>>on, their numbers l)eing greatest in late July, August, and Sep- tember, when they follow the large schools of herring and otlier fish that come in shore. Tliey are often seen in flocks of several thou- sand when fi.sh are plenty, and Mr. Antlumy has met a flock on the coast of Lower California which he estimat(Hl at not less than fifty tliousand. It is only in very calm weather, lie says, tliat they are seen resting on the water, but then they collect in a compact circle and wait 36 FULMARS AND SHEARWATERS until started on their journey by a rising wind. None of our Pacific coast sea birds adhere so closely to established fly lines as the puf- fins. Mr. Anthony tells us {Auk, xiii. 223-228) that "even when fly- ing fifty miles or more from land the first flock that passes will, with almost absolute certainty, mark the line which the next will follow, even though they be an hour behind." Mr. Anthony calls attention to the habit common to different spe- cies of shearwaters of flying in large circles or an advancing series of loops when quartering the sea for small fish, — a flock seen along shore going in the opposite direction from one farther out to sea. 95. Puffinus griseus (GmeL). Dark-bodied Shearwater. Entire plumage sooty gray except for white under wing coverts, which are mottled with grav at tips ; bill and feet dusky or black. Wing : ll.b5-12.00, bill 1.55-1.70, depth of bill at base .45-..55, tarsus 2.12-2.35. Distribution. — 'South Pacific, north along the coast of California, and reported in great numbers from Queen Charlotte Islands, B. C. One of the most important results of the valuable work done by Mr. Loomis on the water birds off Monterey is the light thrown on the northward migration of birds from the south temperate zone. The dark-bodied shearwater affords conclusive evidence on the sub- ject. The shearwaters taken at Monterey in May were in worn, moulting plumage, common with birds just after the breeding season ; while their sexual organs showed none of the functional develop- ment of birds about to breed. The migratory movements of these birds increased from May until September, when there was an abrupt decrease in their numbers, only stragglers being seen after- wards. Not only were the September and October birds in fresh plumage, but those secured had their sexual organs enlarged as in birds in the flush of the breeding season. As the shearwaters are known to breed from March to October on oceanic islands in the south temperate zone, the case seems to be a simple one. Puflanus bulleri Sahin. Adults : mantle gray, in striking contrast to black on head, tail, and lesser wing- coverts ; greater coverts gray, tipped with white ; outer pri- maries black, with two thirds of inner webs white ; cheeks mottled grayish white ; Jower parts and under wing coverts white. Length : 16.50, wing 11.30, tail 5.20, bill 2.60. Distribution. — New Zealand. One record from Point Pinos, California. Mr. Loomis secured a specimen of Puffinus bulleri about six miles west of Point Pinos, on November 6, 1896. As this was the fourth of the species known to science, and the others had come from New Zealand seas, the record is of great interest, and as pointed out suggests that persistent observation along the Pacific coast may add largely to the list of pelagic wanderers from the southern seas. FULMARS AND SHEARWATERS 37 96. PufiSnus tenuirostris (Temm.). Slender-billed Shearwater. Size small ; l)ill lelativi'ly small and slender ; plumage sooty or blackish except for paler throat and white under wing- coverts ; bill and feet dusky. Wing: lO.UO-Il.lO, tail ;J.20-.'].<)0, bill 1.20-1.28, depth at base .:]5-.rj0, tarsus 1.90-2.00. Distribution. — Pacific Ocean, breeding in the southern hemisphere, but mig'rating north in summer to Kotzebue Sound. The slender-billed shearwater w^as discovered at Monterey by Mr. Joseph :Maillard, December, 1895. Between the 14th and 20th of the month he saw ij^reat numbers of the birds, and secured twenty speci- mens. Mv. Loomis infers that they w-ere belated migrants on their way back to their breeding grounds in the southern hemisphere. GENUS OCEANODROMA. General Characters. — Bill small and weak, with nasal tubes elevated at tip ; tail slightly forked ; size small ; slender and tern-like ; bill and feet black. KEY TO SPECIES. 1. Upper or lower tail coverts white. 2. Lower tail coverts white, upper gray furcata, p. ;>7. 2'. Upper, and sides^of lower tail coverts, white . . kaedingi, p. 37. r. Upper and lower tail coverts dusky. 2. Under wing- coverts with a light-colored patch . hoiliochroa, p. 38. 2'. Under wing coverts without light patch. 3. Side of rump with gray or whitish patch . socorroensis, p. 38. 3'. Side of rump without gray or whitish patch . . melania, p. 38. 105. Oceanodroma furcata (Gmel.). Forked-tailed Petrel. Body li.i;ht ])liiish gray, fading to white on chin, throat, and under tail coverts; bend of wing, (juills, and space around eve. duskv. Length: 8.00-9.20, wing .') 90-().40, l,ill .00, tail 3.7.')-4.O0. forked for about 1. Distribution. — P^-om the Arctic circle .south on the American side to Monterey. Nfst. — A hole in a bank, lined scantily with dry gntss and fine roots. Eg;/ : 1. white, with line spots of lilac and dark color about the larger end. 1052. Oceanodroma kaedingi .l/fMo/i//. Kaedino Petrel. Plumage niuinly sooty black : wing cov- erts brownish ; upper tail coverts and side of under coverts, white. Wimj: 'k"). tail 3.2"), forked f<»r .00, tarsus .SO, i)ill ..').", (from type). Distribution. — Pacific coast and islands from Soc. 40. 5'. Smaller, wiug l.'J or less. Breeds in Oregon and ('.ilifornia. albociliatus. p. 40. 'V. Size sm:ill. witig under 10. .")(), Iie.id without crests. mexicanuB, p. 11. 40 CORMORANTS 2'. Flanks with a large white patch in breeding plumage. Top and back of head crested in breeding plumage. 3. Size larger, wing 10.00-11.40. From Washington northward. pelagicus, p. 41. 3'. Size smaller, wing 9.30-10.50. From Cape Flattery southward. resplendens, p. 42. Subgenus Phalacroeorax. 120. Phalacroeorax dilophus (Sivain.). Double-crested Cor- morant. Adults in breeding plumage. — Tliroat pouch orange ; a narrow crest of curved black feathers above and back of each eye ; back and wings slaty, feathers bordered with black ; rest of plumage glossy greenish black. Post-breeding plumage : head without crests. Young : plumage brownish, becoming grayish brown on head and neck ; throat and bi'east lighter, sometimes white before the first moult. Length : 29-34, wing 12-13, bill 2.00-2.45. _ Distribution. — Breeds from northeastern North America west to the Dakotas and north to Athabasca ; migrates to Gulf coast ; west to Colo- rado and Utah. Nest. — In trees or on rocks, made of sticks, and usually coated with lime-like excrement. Eggs : 3 or 4, dull bluish green. The double-crested cormorants are common along the Atlantic coast and the lakes and rivers of the Mississippi valley, breeding in communities on cliffs and rocky islands along the coast, and mainly in trees in the interior. Like all cormorants, they are expert fishers. With their dense glossy plumage, long, almost fish-like form, powerful leg muscles, and wide paddles, double-jointed mouths, elastic throats, and the hooked tip of their bills, they are built for pursuing, catching, and swallowing fish. Much of their time is spent in the water pursuing their prey, or perched on rocks or posts near their fishing grounds. Vernon Bailey. 120b. P. d. cincinatus (Brandt). White-crested Cormorant. Like P. dilophus, but with crests mainly white. Length : 30, wing 13.70, bill 2.25-2.55. Distribution. — Northwest coast of North America, breeding on the coast of Alaska ; south in winter to California. Nest. — On islands, a mass of sticks and weeds six inches to a foot in height. JEggs : 4 or 5. 120c. p. d. albociliatus Ridgw. Farallone Cormorant. Similar to cincinatus, but slightly smaller. Length : 25-31, wing 11.75- 13.00, bill 1.90-2.3.5. Distribution. — Coast and inland lakes of southern Oregon and Califor- nia, and south to western Mexico and the Socorro Islands. Nest. — A firm structure of sticks, lined with moss and various water plants ; placed in trees and on rocks. Eggs : 3 to 5, dull bluish green. The Farallone cormorant is a common resident of the California CORMORANTS 41 coast, and breeds abundantly on the Farallones and other islands; also in the interior, nestinii; in extensive colonies in trees near some of the large lakes. ]Mr. Chamberlain reports a colony at Clear Lake, California, and those at Tule Lake, Oregon, are undoubtedly of this species. On their breeding grounds, nests, rocks, trees, and ground are painted white with their excrement, and some of the trees are usually killed by it. Bones and pieces of fish are scattered about, adding to the general attractiveness of the place. 121. Phalacrocorax mexicanus (Brandt). Mexican Cormo- rant. Adults. — Head and foreparts of body mainly dark brownish, lighter on throat, and gray or whitish adjoining- brown throat pouch ; shoulders and -wing- coverts slaty ; feathers bordered with black ; posterior parts of body, tail, and wing quills blackish. Breeding plumage : head, neck, and belly with slender white filaments. Young : brownish, becoming- grayish brown on throat and under parts, whitish next to pouch. Before Jirst moult : throat and breast whitish. Length : 2o 00-28.75, wing^ 9.05-10.40, bill 1.70-2.00. Distribution. — Mexico, Cuba, and the Gulf coast ; north to New Mexico, Kansas, and Illinois. Nest. — Rudely made of sticks and leaves, placed on bushes or trees near or over water. Eggs : bluish white, with a slight chalky deposit. Subgenus Compsohalieus. 122. Phalacrocorax penicillatus (Brandt). Brandt Cormo- rant. Bill slender, nearly straight ; tail short, with 14 instead of 10 feathers; head without crests or elongated tufts. Adults: head and neck g-lossy blue black, except for lig-ht brownish patch next to g'ular sac ; under parts g-lossy greenish black ; scapulars and wing- coverts dull greenish black. Breeding plumage : sides of neck and shoidders with hnig- white or yellowish filaments ; throat pouch blue. Young : plumage broAvn, throat and under parts paler; upper j)arts darker, becoming blackish on back of neck. Lengt/i : :15, wing- 10.50-11.75. l)ill 2.()0-2.05, tail 5..50-().50. Distribution. — Pacific coast from Cape St. Lucas to Vancouver Island. The Brandt cormorant is abundant along the Pacific coast, breed- ing in large colonics on rocky islands. Grinnell says it is the cormo- rant observed about San Pedro, hundreds .sometimes being seen roo.sting on the breakwater. On the Farallones Bryant .says they congregate in large rookeries. The young are hatched entirely naked, Iheir skin resendjling a greasy black kid glove. In this con- dition, and even after the down is on them, they are an irresistible morsel to the hungry gulls. SnbccnuR Urile. 123. Phalacrocorax pelagicus /'*»//. Pklack- Cormoij-vnt. Breeding plumage. — Throat ptiiich dull cural n'd : crown and hack of 42 PELICANS head with purplish green crests ; neck with loose white filaments ; rump and large patch on flanks white ; head and body dark glossy green, changing- to rich purple on neck and purplish g-reen on wings ; quills and tail black. Post-breeding j^lumage : crests, white filaments, and white flank patch wanting-. Young : dusky brown, lighter on head ; upper parts darker, with a tinge of green. Wing: lO.OU-11.40, tail G.25-8.50, bill 1.70-2.10. Distribution. — Coast of Alaska and British Columbia to Washington. Nest. — Usually on a ledge of bold-faced rock, large, made of seaweed, a few grass-stalks, and excrement, l^ggs : 3 to 4, pale blue to white. The Eskimo use this cormorant's skin for clothing, and the white filaments from the flanks for fringes in their ornamental work. 123b. P. p. resplendens {And.). Baird Cormorant. Coloration as in pelagiciis, size smaller, bill nearly as long, but slenderer. Wiiig: 9.80-10.50, tail 5.80-7.00, bill 1.G5-2.00. Distribution. — Pacific coast from Cape Flattery to Mazatlan, Mexico. The Baird cormorant is usually less common than the Farallone or Brandt cormorants, breeding apart from them in communities on the islands or rocky points off shore. FAMILY PELECANIDiE : PELICANS. GENUS PELECANUS. General Characters. — Bill much longer than head, upper mandible flat ; a large pouch of elastic, naked skin hung as a fish-net from flexible sides of lower mandible. KEY TO SPECIES. 1. Color mainly white erythrorhynchos, p. 42. 1'. Color mainly grayish brown califoriiicus, p. 43. 125. Subgenus Cyrtopelicanus. erythrorhynchos Gmel. Peleeanus erythrorhynchos Gmel. American White Pelican. Tail feathers 24. Breeding plumage : mainly white, primaries and most of secondaries black ; back of head with thin white or yellowish crest, breast and lesser wing coverts with narrow lanceolate yellowish feathers ; upper VIA. \<;1C Ci "KM' )R.\N r MAN-O'-WAR BIRDS. 43 mandible with upright horn. Post-breeding plumage : crest replaced by short g-rayish feathers, upper mandible without horny excrescence. Adults in winter plumage : back of head white ; bill pouch and feet pale yellow instead of orange. Yuung : white, with gray on tojj of head and lesser wing coverts. Length: 4A to nearly <) feet ; extent 8+ to nearly 10 feet ; wing 20.00-25.2."3, bill 11.U5-1.5.00 ; weight about IT lbs. Distribution. — North America from latitude (iP to Guatemala. Nest. — Usually on islands, sometimes a depression in gravel or sand, lined with seaweeds ; but generally a thin layer of sticks and weeds, laid on the ground or on rocks. J^ggs : 1 to 3, dull white, like those of the Canada goose, but with rougher shell. The white pelican is more a bird of the interior than of the coast districts, and still breeds in £!:reat colonies on a few of the larger lakes. Some of the little islands which used to be covered with nests are abandoned now, the splendid birds having been driven away by wanton persecution. The pelicans are eminently social at all seasons, sometimes gather- ing in flocks of many hundreds along the shore, w^liere, by beating the water with their wings, they drive the fish into the shallows, to scoop them up with their wide pouches. At other times they may be seen circling, wheeling, and soaring overhead, in magnificent aerial drill, or riding buoyantly on the surface of the water like a squadron of white ships. Yeknon Bailey. Subgenus Leptopelicanus. 127. Pelecanus californicus liidgu: California Brown Peli- can.^ Tail feathers 22. Breeding plumage : pouch reddish ; head, and feathers next to pouch, white ; crown tinged with yellow ; neck, including mane- like crest, rich velvety brown ; upper parts silvery gray, streaked with brownish ; under parts brownish, streaked on sides with white. Winter plumage : head and neck white, tinged with yellowish on tliroat and crown. Young : upper parts grayish brown, darker on back ; under parts white, tinged on sides with brownish. Lenuth : 4^ feet or more, wing 20.r)()-2;j.25, bill 12.2:.-1 4.75. Distribution. — Pacific coast from southern British Columbia to Gala- pagos Islands. FAMILY FREGATIDiE: MAN-O'-WAR BIRDS. GENUS FREGATA. 128. Fregata aquila Linn. Man-o'-Wau Biri>. Wings very long ; tail deeply forked: feet small, half webbed. Adult male : ])himage black, b.ist' of wings glossed with greenish or jjurplisli. Adult femalf : ])liiniage dull black; wings with grayish patch ; sides and breast white. Young : liead, neck, and under parts wliite ; upper parts dull brownish black. Ijenqth : JJT.:")!)- 41.()(>. wing 22.00-27. 10, tail i4.2.")-H).2."), FiR- W>- forked for about 1> ; bill 4.2r)-.-).l.->. A siH'ciiiien of /'. occi'lnitalis w.is taken in Wyoming. .Inly, IM'.'K. ( The Anl:, xvi. 35L) 44 DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS Distribution. — Tropical and subtropical seas, chiefly north of the equa- tor ; north reg-ularly to Florida, Texas, and California, and casually to Wisconsin and Nova Scotia. Nest. — Made of sticks, placed in the tops of bushes or low trees. ORDER ANSERES: LAMELLIROSTRAL SWIMMERS. FAMILY ANATIDiE: DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS. KEY TO GENERA. 1. Tarsus shorter than middle toe without claw. C^ 2. Lower mandible without trace of lamellie along side edg-es of mandibles strongly toothed or serrate. 3. Tooth-like serrations of mandibles sharp and strongly inclined backward .... Merganser, p. 45. 3'. Tooth-like serrations of mandibles blunt and not dis- tinctly inclined backward . Lopliodytes, p. 47. 2'. Lower mandible with a distinct series of lamellae along Fig. 61. Fig. 62. side as well as cutting edge. Lower part of tarsus with small hexagonal plates and no transverse scutellae in front. Dendrocygna, p. 69. Lower part of tarsus with a row of transverse scutel- Ite across the front, i. Tail without upper coverts, the base of the stiff feathers scarcely concealed. 5. Tail feathers 18 ... . Erismatura, p. 64. 5'. Tail feathers 20 Nomonyx, p. 65. 4'. Tail with base well concealed by upper coverts. 5. Hind toe without a flattened membraneous lobe. 6. Bill long and much wider near end than to- ward base Spatula, p. 54. 6'. Bill not much wider near end than at base. 7. Tail feathers wide and rounded at end. Aix, p. 55. 7'. Tail feathers narrow and pointed at tips. 8. Tail graduated more than a third of its total length. 9. Tail feathers 14 . . Mareca, p. 49. 9'. Tail feathers 16. 10. Bill longer than middle toe without claw Dafila, p. .54. 10'. Bill shorter than middle toe without claw . Chaulelasmus, p. 49. 8'. Tail graduated less than a third of its total length. 9. Wing more than 8 . . Anas, p. 47. 9'. Wing less than 8. DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 45 10. Upper and lower outlines of upper mandible beyond nostril convex. Querquedula, p. 52. 10'. Upper and lower outlines of upper mandible beyond nostrils straight. Nettion, p. 51. 5'. Hind toe with a flattened membraneoiis lobe. 6. Graduation of tail less than length of bill from nostril Aythya, p. 56. 6'. Graduation of tail much more than length of bill from nostril. 7. Anterior edge of nostril in front of middle of culmen Clangula, p. 59. 7'. Anterior edge of nostril back of middle of culmen. 8. Upper mandible widest back of nostril, and not conspicuously elevated nor swol- len at base. 9. Feathers ending in straight line across forehead .... Harelda, p. (U. 9'. Feathers ending in point of acute tri- angle on forehead. 10. Upper mandible constricted to small nail-like tip. Charitonetta, p. (30. 10' . Upper mandible rounded at tip. Histrionicus, p. 61. 8'. Upper mandible widest at anterior edge of nostril, and elevated or swollen at base (except in female and immature O. americana) . . Oidemia, p. 62. 1'. Tarsus as long as or longer than middle toe without claw. 2. Neck as long as or longer than body • . Olor, p. 70. 2 . Neck shorter than body. 8. Bill and feet always black .... Branta, p. (57. 3'. Bill and feet never entirely black, usually reddish or yellowish. 4. Bill as wide as deep at base . . Philacte, p. 69. 4'. Bill much deeper than wide at base. 5. Depth of bill at base more than half the length of culmen ; adults mainly white . Chen, p. 65. 5'. Depth of bill at base less than half the length of culmen ; adults never white . Anser, p. (iij. GENUS MERGANSER. Getiend Characters. — i^ill slender and approximately cylindrical in front of nostrils, anned along edges of mandibles with sharp, strongly recurved teeth ; head crested in both sexes. KKY TO Sl'KCIES. 1. Nostril near middle of bill, about .50 from feathei"s. americanus. p. 4(5. 1'. Nostril near base of bill, about 25 from feathers . serrator. p. 46. 46 DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 129. Merganser amerieanus (Cass.). American Merganser: Sheldrake. Adult male. — Head and short crest black glossed with green ; shoulders black ; wing black, with white in middle ; rump and tail g'ray ; neck and sides white ; breast creamy white or pale salmon. Adult female : head, neck, and long- thin crest light brown ; rest of upper parts bluish gray, except white patch on middle of wing ; chin and breast white. Male : length 25-27, wing 10.50-11.25, bill 1.90-2.20. Female: length 21-24, wing 9.60-9.75, bill 1.80-2.00. Distribution. — Whole of North America, breeding from Pennsylvania and mountains of Colorado and California, northward. Nest. — In hollow tree or on ground, lined with down. Eggs : 8 to 10, pale bufiFy. TI'.G sheldrakes, while common and widely distributed, are never abundant. They are usually found in pairs or small flocks along the rivers or in open lakes where there are plenty of small fish. In sum- mer the few that remain in the United States to breed keep princi- pally in the high mountains, along the streams or lakes of the Boreal zone. Even the half fledged young delight in the cold water and foaming rapids of a mountain trout stream. Vernon Bailey. 130. Merganser serrator (Xiw/?.). Red-breasted Merganser. Adult male. — Head and crest black, glossed with green ; neck white ; back black ; middle of wings white ; rump g"ray ; chest buffy brown, streaked with blackish ; belly white or creamy ; sides gray. Adult female : head and neck brown, darker and duller on crown and crest ; rest of upper parts and tail slaty gray, except for white patch on wings ; under parts white. Length; 20-25, wing 8.60-9.00, bill about 2.50. DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 47 Remarks. — The female is distinguished from the female americanus by smaller size, slenderer bill, and position of nostril. Distribution. — Northern part of northern hemisphere, breeding- in Amer- ica from Illinois and Minnesota north to Alaska and Greenland ; south in winter over the United States. Nest. — On ground near water, hidden in grass and weeds, made of leaves, grass, and moss, lined with down. Eggs : 8 to 10, olive buff. The red-breasted mergauser is a common duck of the clear streams and lakes, a good diver and fisher, but rarely fat and often flavored by its favorite food. GENUS LOPHODYTES. 131. Lophodytes cueullatus (Linn.). Hooded Merganser. Bill narrow, slender, and with terminal part cylindrical, armed along edges of mandibles with blunt, scarcely inclined teeth ; head with high thin, wheel-shaped crest, less prominent in female. Adult male. — Head, neck, and back black ; middle of crest and under parts, white ; sides light brown, finely cross-lined with black. Adult female : upper parts grayish brown, browner on crest ; patch on wing, throat, and belly white. Young : similar to female, but with little or no crest. Length: 17.2.V 19.25, wing 7.o()-7.90, bill 1.50. Distribution. — North America from Alaska to Cuba and Mexico, breed- ing throughout most of its range. ^,^^ ^._^ Nest. — In hollow trees, lined with grass, feathers, and doAvn. Eggs: 0 to 10, ivory white.. The hooded merganser or saw-bill is widely distributed and often abundant during migration, frequently gathering in large flocks in the rice lakes. It becomes very fat and its flesh rarely has any flavor of fish. In fall it is one of the last ducks to leave, lingering on the half frozen lakes and streams of the northern states. A little flock may now and then be found in open rapids, when all the still water is covered with ice. v^ernon Bailey. GENUS ANAS. General Characters. — Bill fiat, long, and slightly wider near end than toward base ; wing with purple or green iridescent .speculum occupying a 48 DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS large space on secondaries ; head uncrested except for the slightly elon- gated green feathers of male mallards in winter plumage. r KEY TO SPECIES OF ANAS. 1. Head and neck iridescent green (winter male) . . . boschas, p. 48. r. Head and neck finely striped and specked with dusky. 2. Belly mottled gray and dusky (summer male, female, and young). „, „ „ , boschas, p. 48. 1 . Belly mottled brown and dusky maculosa, p. 49. 132. Anas boschas Linn. Mallard. Male in winter and breeding plumage. — Four of the black upper tail coverts recurved ; head and neck, down to white collar, rich iridescent green ; chest dark chestnut brown ; belly "^""^^^^^-i^ and sides gray ; wing with iridescent violet green speculum bor- dered by black and w hite bars ; rump and upper and lower tail coverts black. Male in summer plumage : like female. Female and immature: entire plum- age variously mottled, scalloped, and streaked with dusky and buff, ex- cept for plain buffy chin and white under surface of wing ; buff predomi- nating on belly ; wing as in male. Length : 20-25, wing 10.25-12.00, bill 2.00-2.40. Distribution. — Northern hemi- -pi gg sphere ; in America breeding from / southern United States to Alaska ; south in winter to Panama. Nest. — On the ground, in grass or weeds, well lined with down. Eggs : 6 to 10, pale olive or buffy green. The mallard is the best known of all the American ducks, l)reed- ing at large over the country and migrating north and south in great flocks, feeding extensively on w^ild rice and various grains and seeds, and becoming extremely fat. Its large size and delicious flavor ren- der it an important and much sought game bird, but at the same time threaten it with partial extermination. Nature has done her best for it in its summer dress, for nothing could be more protec- tively inconspicuous. The female keeps the mottled disguise all winter. In fall, however, both old and young males acquire the rich breeding plumage which they keep until after the eggs are laid in spring. The male then doffs his bright dress and in his dull dis- guise can be distinguished from the female only by his soft voice, a mere whispered imitation of her loud quack, quack. When both old birds are away from the nest, the eggs are left carefully covered with down. Vernon Bailey. DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 49 134a. Anas fulvigula maculosa {Senn.). Mottled Duck. Sexes similar, resembling- a dark-colored female mallard. Head and neck buff J', finely streaked with dusky ; under parts mottled about equally with dusky and light brown ; feathers of breast and back with brown cen- ters and margins ; spseulum of wing- g-reenish purple framed in black, the feathers tipped with white. Wing : 10.05, bill 2.25. Distribution. — From Central Mexico north to Kansas and Colorado. Eggs. — Pale huffy. The habits of the mottled duck are similar to those of the mal- lard. GENUS CHAULELASMUS. 135. Chaulelasmus streperus (Linn.). Gadwall. Tail feathers 10. Adult male : top of head with wide low crest ; head and body gray, crossed with wavy lines of black and white ; rump and upper and lower tail coverts black ; wing- marked with black, white, and bright brown ; belly white. Post-breeding plumage : duller and more spotted below. Adult female : head without crest ; head and neck finely specked with dusky on a buffy or w hitish ground ; cliin and belly white ; rest of body with feathers duskv, bordered with buff. Male : length 19.2.5-21.75, wing 10.2.5-11.00, bill r.60-L75. Female: length 18, wing 10.00-10.25, bill 1.5.5-1.65. Remarks. — The female resembles the female mallard, but may be distin- guished by white chin and belly, gray under surface of wing, and white instead of green speculum. Distribution. — Northern hemisphere, including the whole of North America. Nest, — Like that of the mallard. Eggs : 8 to 12, pale buffy or creamy white. In habits the ijadwall is much like the mallard, being a bird of the ponds and marshes and breeding more or less commonly over much of North America, especially on the ])h\iiis and prairies. GENUS MARECA. General Characters. — Tail feathers 14; male with short crest, adult male with white crown ; bill small, widest near base. KEY TO SPECIES. 1. Sides of liead and neck rich russet brown (specked with dnsky in im- mature) (male) peuelope, p. 40. 1'. Sides of head and neck thickly specked with dusky on liglit buff or whitish ground. 2. ('rest and sides of crown metallic green . (iiiali') americana, p. 50. 2. Wlioli' head and neck streaked and specked. 3. Head and neck streaked on whitish ground. (female) americana. j). .50. o .Head and neck streaked on l)uff ground. (female) penelope. j). 40. 136. Mareca penelope (Linn.). Winr.ioN. Adult malr.— Dill blue with bbick tij); crown white or creamy; rest of head and neck rich lusset brown, more or less specked with black ; chest 50 DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS light vinaceous brown ; back, rump, and sides gray crossed by fine wavy black and white lines ; wing with green speculum framed in black, and bordered above by large white patch ; under, and sides of upper, tail coverts, black. Adult female : head and neck thickly specked all over with dusky on buff ; breast, sides, and back mottled with dusky and buff ; speculum grayish, bordered above and below by narrow white tips to feathers. Young male : head and neck brown, thickly specked with black ; breast and sides dull brown, back mottled duskv and brown. Length : 18- 20, wing 10-11, bill 1.35-1.45. Distribution. — Northern part of Old World, occurring rarely in eastern United States, Nebraska, California, and Alaska. 137. Mareca araericana (GmeL). Baldpate. ArliiJf mnh. — Bill bine ^ith blnok tip : crown white, bordered on sides ,^ and back with wide 1 patch of metallic green ; rest of head and neck finely specked with dusky over buffy ; chest and sides grayish lavender or vina- ceous, often barred ;ind specked with dusky; belly white; '(. l)ack dark gray crossed with wavy lines of black, white, I f n 7 ^ '""^"^ lavender ; spec- j,. g(, ulum green, framed in velvety black ; bordered above by large white patch ; lower, and sides of upper, tail coverts, black. Adult female : head and neck finely specked with dusky on whitish ground, the dusky predominating on top of head ; chest, sides, and back dull brown, mottled with blackish ; belly white ; wing with dull black speculum bordered above and below by white. Length: 18-22, wing 10.25-11.00, bill 1.30-1.50. Distribution. — Whole of North America, breeding from Texas to North Dakota, and northward. Nest. — On the ground, in a bunch of grass, under a bush, or in a depres- sion lined with grass, leaves, and down. Eggs : 10 or 11, creamy or huffy white. Like most of the slioal water ducks, Colonel Goss tells us, the baldpates are to be looked for along the edges of lagoons, grassy- lakes, and pools of water. The birds are not shy, he says, and " their note, a sort of wheio, loheic, wheic, uttered while feeding and swim- ming, enables the hunter to locate them in the thickest growth of water plants ; and wiien in the air the whistling noise made by their wings heralds their approach." Ordinarily their food habits are the same as those of the gad wall, but in the fall they often attach them- selves to a party of canvas-backs or other deep water ducks, that feed on Vallisneria, and following them about lie in wait while the DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 61 divers arc below, and as their heads appear above the surface snatch tlieir catch and hurry away to swallow it at leisure. GENUS NETTION. General Characters. — Tail feathers 10 ; sides of bill parallel throughout ; upper and lower outlines in front of nostril straight ; wing- with speculum bright green ; head of male in winter and breeding' plumag^e with short crest. KEY TO ADULT MALES. 1. Sides and shoulders finely lined with black and white, and shoulders crossed by white bar carolinensis. p. 51. r. Sides and shoulders coarsely lined with black and white ; shoulders without white bar crecca. p. 51. [138.] Nettion crecca (X?«H.). European Teal. Adult male. — Similar to carolinensis but shoulder without white bar, and black Hues and spots on body heavier and coarser. Adult female: indis- ting-uishable from female carolinensis. Distribution. — Northern part of Old World, occasional in northern part of North America and in California. 139. Nettion carolinensis {Gmel). Green-winged Teal. Adult male. — Head light chestnut, forehead and eliin blackish ; a wide crescent of green and black inclosing eye and reaching to base of crest ; breast bufpy, spotted with black ; back gray, shoulders crossed by white bar ; shoulders and sides finely cross-lined with black and white ; wing- with green and black specu- lum, bordered above by butt" and below by white ; under tail coverts black, l)ordered by rich buff. Adult female : back, sides, and breast dusky, scalloped and mottled with "%»«*?^i bufF ; throat and belly whitish ; "^^ , base of wing- slaty; wing with ^». speculum as in male. Younq male : '^- belly white. Len(/fh : 12.50-15.00. wing ().25-7.40. bill 1.40-1.(>0. Distribution. — Whole of North America, breeding- in Colorado. Oregon, and California, but mainly north of the United States : in winter south to Honduras and Cuba. Nest. — In a tuft of grass, or on dry ground among willows, made of grass and lined with down. Kytjs : usually 5 » to 12, sometimes 10 to 18, pale biiff. The ^reen-winged teal, like most of its near relatives, is far more a duck of the marshes, grass- fringed jionds, meadow creeks, and irrigation ditches than of the clear lakes and streams. Like the mallard, and often in its company, the teal are fond t)f feeding in shallow water where, by standing on their heads, — with tails and sometimes feet sticking up out of the water, — they can reach the bottom to grub up the tender roots and water plants, and sift out 52 DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS the sunken seeds. They become excessively fat, and although the smallest, are one of the most delicious of our ducks. Vernon Bailey. GENUS QUERQUEDULA. General Characters. — Tail feathers 14, bill of nearly uniform width ; upper and lower outlines swollen toward end ; wing- with large patch of light blue, speculum green in males. KEY TO ADULT MALES. ^ 1. Lower parts clear bright cinnamon cyanoptera, p. 52. 1'. Lower parts thickly spotted with dusky on vinaceous . discors, p. 52. KEY TO FEMALES. 1. Under parts mottled dusky and dark buff . . . cyanoptera, p. 52. 1'. Under parts mottled dusky and gray discors, p. 52. 140. Querquedula discors (Linn.). Blue- winged Teal. Adult male. — Sides of head slaty gray, with purple gloss ; white crescent in front of eye bordered by black ; under ^^^MUk^ parts vinaceous, finely spotted with ^^fl^HBjl^^^ dusky ; back scalloped and streaked with ^t^^^^KA hI^ dusky and vinaceous ; wing bright blue ^Hj^^^^^^B ^m^^l^^ at base, middle coverts tipped with white |^^^^^^H|F^|(Pi^H^^^^^ and buffy, speculum iridescent green ; ^H^^^^^p<^^^ under tail coverts black, base of tail with hH^^^^T^ white patch on either side. Adult female : ^MKK^ crown mainly dusky, rest of head and ^^^HB^ neck speckled and streaked with dusky ; wtHm^^l. back dusky ; under parts gray, mottled Fi„ (53 with dusky ; wing with lesser coverts blue, greater tipped with white, spec- ulum greenish. Young : belly white, wing without green. Length : 14.50- 16.00, wing 7.00-7.50, bill 1.40-1.65. Distribution. — North America, but chiefly east of Rocky Mountains ; in winter south to Ecuador. Nest. — On dry ground, or in grass or reeds in marshes ; made of grass and lined with feathers. Eggs : 8 to 12, pale buffy. The blue-winged teal is one of the commonest ducks throughout the middle portion of North America, but towards the west coast it becomes scarce, its place being filled by the more abundant cinna- mon teal. It breeds through most of its United States and northern range and migrates early, before the really cold weather. By prefer- ence it inhabits the marshes and grass-fringed ponds, keeping out of sight when it can ; but during migration, like many other ducks, it depends for safety on a wide expanse of open water. Vernon Bailey. 141. Querquedula cyanoptera (Fte«7/.). Cinnamon Teal. Adult male. — Head, neck, breast, and sides bright cinnamon brown, DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 53 fading- to dull brown on belly and becoming- blackish on chin and crown ; back dusky, shoulders spotted and barred with dusky and brown ; wing with lesser coverts light blue, middle coverts tipped with white, speculum g-reen, tertials broadly striped with blue, greenish black, and rich buff. Adult female : crown dusky, rest of head and neck finely specked and streaked with dusky on butfy ground ; rest of upper parts dusky scalloped with buff ; wing with large blue patch ; under parts brownish, mottled with dusky. Young: like female. but more streaked below. Length : 15.50-17.00, wing 7.20-7.25, bill l" t)5- 1.85. Remarks. — The iQvaale cuanoptera ^. „^ ^. ^ , differs from the female disajrs in ^'^- ^^- C'""amon Teal. darker coloration, with the breast browner, and more spotted. Distribution. — From southern Canada and the western United States to Chili and Falkland Islands ; east irregularly into the Mississippi Valley. Nest. — On the ground. Eggs : 8 to 12, creamy white. Over most of the United States west of the liundredtli meridian the cinnamon teal is one of the commonest ducks, breeding in abun- dance throughout the Great Basin country, and to some extent over the greater part of its United States range. Its favorite summer home is in the shallow tule-bordered lakes or tule marshes of the arid region, where, even in the breeding season, it is found in little companies feeding along shore or out in the open patches of water. The nest is usually in a dry marsh or on a grassy bank not far from the water, well lined with dusky down from the duck's breast. The young are protected in the tule cover until old enough to fly, but they have many enemies. The prowling coyote dines with equal relish on a nest full of eggs or an unwary duck, and there are hawks by day and owls by night. The teals could hold their own against these old-time enemies, however, but a new danger has come to them in the form of the unrestrained market hunter. He goes to the breeding ground just before the young can fly and while the old ducks are moulting and equally helpless, and day after day loads his wagon with them for the train. This wholesale slaughter has gone on until some of the breeding grounds have been woefully thinned not only of teal, but of other ducks. AVithout speedy and strenuous elTorts to procure and enforce protective hiws. many species of ducks that breed prin- cipally within our limits will s0 to 40 feet from the ground in the natural cavity of a tree trunk, lined with down. Eyys : usually S to 14, creamy white. If the end of a rainbow had touched a marsh and dabbled its colors overa i)laiu brown duck, it could never have produced anything half so brilliant as one of these old male wood ducks in full breeding plumage. No wonder the handsome fellows are shy and deem it prudent to keep hidden in crooked forest creeks (M- ponds surrounded by tall grass, brush, and trees ! A mossy log in a poiul is a favorite 56 DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS resting place for the ducks, but as you walk through the woods in spring a pair will often fly from a branch overhead, uttering their shrill, plaintive cry as they dart through the trees. The nest is sometimes placed in the old excavation of a pileated woodpecker, but usually in a natural cavity. A mass of gray down from the mother's breast generally protects the eggs. The parents are said to carry the young in their bills from the nest to the nearest water, but in some cases, whether accidentally or not, the young tumble to the ground. In autumn the families gather into large flocks )to fatten on wild rice and acorns. When fat the flesh is scarcely excelled by that of any duck. They are becoming scarce, and unless protected will before long be a bird of the past. GENUS AYTHYA. General Characters. — Head not crested, but short, thick, and rounded ; tail short and rigid ; wing- with white or bluish speculum. KEY TO ADULT MALES. 1. Head and neck bright brown. 2. Crown dusky vallisneria, p. 57. 2'. Crown reddish brown americana, p. 56. r. Head and neck greenish or purplish black. 2. Head glossed with green raarila, p. 57. 2'. Head glossed with purple. o. Neck without chestnut collar aflBnis, p. 58. o'. Neck with dark chestnut collar collaris, p. 59. 146. Aythya americana (Eyt.). Redhead. Bill little more than twice as long as wide. Adult male : whole head and neck bright reddish chestnut ; shoulders and chest black ; belly white ; sides and back uniform g-ray. with fine lines of black and ashy ; tail and feathers around base black. Adult female : plumage dull gray- ish brown except for whit- ish chin, throat, and belly. Length : 17-21, wing 8..5a- 9.25, bill 2.05-2.25, width of bill .75-.85. Distribution. — Nearly the whole of North America, breeding from California, Missouri, and Maine, north- ward. Not . reported from Fig^ 72. Alaska. Nest. — On marshy or grassy ground near water, loosely constructed of g-rass and weeds, and lined with down. Eggs : 7 to 10, grayish white or pale olive. DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 57 The redhead is so similar to the canvas-back as to be easily mis- taken for it at a little distance, and in habits the resemblance is equally close. Goss says that this deep water duck, though widely distributed, is not so common on the Pacific slope as east of the Rocky Mountains. It is usually found in flocks on the open water associated with canvas-backs, and diving with them for its food, which consists of various kinds of submarine and fresh water plants, small mollusks. crustaceans, fish, frogs, and water newts. 147. Aythya vallisneria (Wils.). Bill three times as long as wide- Fig. 73. Canvas-back. Adult. 711 ale : liead and neck rich chestnut brown, becoming" dusky on crown and face ; shoulders and chest black ; sides and back light gray ; belly white or grayish ; tail and quills dark gray ; feath- ers around base of tail black. Adult /V m a le : plumage mainly umber brown, becom- ing whitish around face and chin. Length: 20.00-23.50, wing 8.75-9.25, bill 2.10-2.50. Distribution. — Wliole of North America, breeding in Colorado, Nevada, Minnesota, and northward to Fort An- derson and Fort Yukon. Nest. — Usually in reeds, grass, or rushes, in shallow water, a bulky mass of grass stems lined with down. Eggs: 1 to 8, pale olive green. In its breeding rano-e the canvas-back is largely a bird of the northern interior, while in winter it is found mainl}^ in the l)ays and estuaries of the southern coasts, where it is attracted by its favorite food, the stems and bulbs of wild celery or eel grass, Vdllifinenn. While feeding on this plant the canvas-])acks become fat and so delicately flavored as to outrank all other ducks in quality and market price. Hunted wherever they go, they have learned that existence depends on eternal vigilance, and so keep out in open water as far from shore as their feeding grounds will allow. Vkhnon Bailky. Subgenus Fuligula. 148. Aythya marila (/>/«».). Scaip Duck: Blie-bill. liill sliort and \\ idc. l)biisli witli black tip. Male in breeding plumagt : liead black, glossed with green; .shoulders, rump, and chest black ; belly white, margined along sides with light grayish ; crissum black. Post- 58 DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS breeding plumage : similar to female but darker brown. Adult female : head, neck, chest, and sides brownish ; re- gion around base of bill, and belly, whitish. Length: 18-20, wing about S..-)0, bill 2.03. _-- Distribution. — Most of the northern hemisphere ; in North America breed- ing- mainly north of the United States ; south in winter to Guatemala and the West Indies. Nest. — Usually in a marsh, or a de- pression in grassy ground near water, lined with down. Eggs: 9 to 12, pale olive gray. The scaup duck, or blue-bill, is not so generally common in the United Scaup Duck. States as the lesser scaup, which has essentially the same habits and is sometimes mistaken for it. Flocks of both are found associated in the rice lakes, where the report of a gun will sometimes start thousands into the air with the roar of an avalanche. The two species are generally indistinguish- able on the wing, and together often form the bulk of the ducks seen during the early spring or late fall migration. Vernon Bailey. 149- Aythya aflfinis (Eyt.). Lesser Scaup Duck. Like A. marila, but smaller, with black of head glossed with purple instead of green, and sides more heavily lined with gray. Length : 15.00- 16.50, wing 7.50-8.25, bill 1.58-1.90, width of bill .80-.95. Distribution. — North America, south in winter to Guatemala, breed- ing mainly north of the United States. Nest. — Similar to that of marila. Eggs : 1 to 9, pale olive gray. The lesser scaup, or little blue-bill, is abundant during migrations over most of the United States, wintering from Okanagon and Lake Chelan south to Guatemala, and in spring following north close to the edge of the retreating ice, to breed mainly north of the United States. Like all of the genus, the lesser scaups are great divers and keep much in the open lakes, often in large flocks, where they dive for food, or sleep and rest on the water in comparative safety. They cannot resist the temptation of the rice lakes, however, and swarm into them by thousands to fatten on the delicious grain, which they glean from the mud bottoms after it has been threshed out by the wind and the wings of myriads of coots and rails. While they eat, the hunters lie hidden in the tall rice and on the ridges which they must pass in going from lake to lake, and in spite of their bullet-like flight the sadly thinned flocks show the penalty they have paid for leaving the open water. Vernon Baii.ey. DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 59 150. Aythya collaris {Bonov.). Ring-necked Duck. Bill narrower than in ^1, marila, black, crossed by blue band near end. Adult male : head, except small white triangle on chin, black, glossed with rich purple ; neck encircled by narrow chestnut collar ; chest and back black, back glossed with greenish ; wings blackish, with blue gray speculum ; middle of belly buffy white ; sides and back finely vermiculated gray; crissum black. Adult female: throat and face whitish, rest of head, neck, and upper parts dull brown ; wing- with blue gray speculum as in male ; chest and sides fulvous, belly white. Length : 15.50-18.00, wing 8.00, bill 1.75-2.00. Distribution. — North America, south in winter to Guatemala, breeding from Minnesota and North Dakota northward. Nest and eggs as in affinis. lu habits, as well as in geueral appearance, the ring-neck is very similar to the lesser scaup. At a little distance they are indistin- guishable, either on the wing or on the water. GENUS CLANGULA. General Characters. — Bill short, high at base and narrowed toward end ; head with wide, high crest ; males with head green and large white spot at base of bill ; females with head and crest plain brownish. KEY TO ADULT MALES. 1. White patch on cheek, circular americana, p. 59. r. White patch on cheek, triangular islandica, p. 60. KEY TO FEMALES. 1. Head light snuff brown americana, p. 59. 1'. Head dark umber brown islandica, p. 00. 151. Clangula clangula americana (Bonap.). American Golden-eye. Adult male. — Head and crest rich dark green, n round white patch at base of bill ; neck and under parts white ; back black, shoulders white ; wing with white central patch and white stripes on scapulars. Adult .^^^^^H^ f*^.^ female : head and upper neck light snuff brown, neck with wide white or gray collar ;" belly white ; chest, sides, and shoulders gray ; wing- dusky, with white on coverts and secondaries, the white greater cov- erts not tipped with dusky. Nail of bill not over .20 wide. Young male : like female, but .sometimes with a ^^ suggestion of the white patch at ^KL base of bill, and less gray on chest. ^fF' 3/a/f: length lS..")0-2;;.()0", wing 0.18, bill 1.95. i^e?7ja/f': i ()..")( ), wing 8.14, .,. .. bill 1.04. '•*^'' Distribution. — North America, breeding in the northern Fnited States and northward ; south in winter tt) Cuba and Mexico. r'd 60 DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS Nest. — Usually in a hollow tree, sometimes in a log or stump, lined with down. J^ggs : usually 9 to 12, light greenish. Although ranging practically over the whole of North America the golden-eyes are rarely common. They are generally found in small flocks on large lakes or rivers, where they dive for fresh water weeds, muscles, and crustaceans. Their strong rapid flight is accompanied by a loud whistling of the wings, which gives them the common name of whistler. Vernon Bailey. 152. Clangula islandica (GmeL). Barrow Golden-eye. Similar to americana, but male with glossy blue black head, and tri- angular or crescent-shaped spot at base of bill ; female with head and neck dark umber brown, white collar narrower, and white greater wing coverts tipped with duskv ; nail of bill over .2o wide. Male : length 21- 23, wing 1).17, bill 1.75. ~ Female : wing 8.46, bill 1.56. Remarks. — In many of the females the characters do not hold, and it is difficult even with specimens of both species to name them all. Distribution. — Northern North America, breeding from mountains of Oregon, Colorado, and Gulf of St. Lawrence northward to Alaska and Green- land ; south in winter to Illinois, Nebraska, Utah, and San Francisco Bay. Nest. — In hollow trees. The Barrow golden-eye, though less common and less widely dis- tributed in migration, breeds farther south than its near relative the American golden -eye, nesting in the crater basin of Paulina Lake, Oregon, and about many of the wuld mountain lakes of the Rockies as far south as Colorado. In winter it is able to remain as far north as Minnesota or the Great Lakes by keeping in water that is too deep or rapid to freeze. Vernon Bailey. GENUS CHARITONETTA. 153. Charitonetta albeola (Linn.). Buffle-head. A })luni|) little duck with short, pointed bill and round, crested head. Adult male : head, except p' • white patch, rich iridescent purple, violet, and green ; Ijack and part of wings black ; rump and tail gray ; rest of plumage white. Adult female : mainly grayish or dusky, with a large white spot on ear coverts and white patch on middle of wing ; belly white. Male : length 14.25- 15.25, wing 6.75-6.90, bill 1.10-1.15. J^ema/e ; smaller. , Distribution. — North America, south in winter to Mexico ; breeds from Maine, " Iowa, and British Columbia Kii;. 7i.. north to Alaska. W DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 61 Nest. — In hollow tree or hole in bank. Eggs : 9 to 14, grayish bu£F, unusually rounded, for a duck. During migratiou the Ijuffle-head is common and often abundant over most of the western United States. It is a conspicuous little duck, and the male is easily recognized by its small size, white sides, and breast. The flocks generally keep out in the open water of lakes and rivers, where they dive for their food, but are sometimes surprised in small ponds or creeks in the shelter of grassy banks. In fall they often remain till the last hole in the ice is closed up, and in spring are back again close to the retreating ice. Vernon Bailey. GENUS HARELDA. 154. Harelda hy emails (Linn.). Old-squaw. A trim little duck with short bill; male with long slender tail; head not crested. Adult male in winter : head and fore parts to shoulders and breast white, except for patches of ashy and dusky on side of head ; back, middle tail feathers, and breast black ; belly white posteriorly, shading into pearl gray on sides. Adult male in summer : sooty, ex- cept for white belly, ash gray face, and white eye- lids ; back and scapulars streaked with chestnut. Adult female in winter : tail not lengthened ; head, >- neck, and under parts l i- 77 mainly white ; chest gray- ish ; crown dusky, rest of upper parts dusky brown, the scapulars bor- dered with lighter Ijrown. Adult female in summer : head and neck grayish brown, with whitish spaces around eye and on .side of neck. Young : similar to female in summer. Male : length 20.75-2.']. 00, wing 8.r)()-0.00, middle tail feathers 8.00-8.50, bill 1.10. Female: length 1 5-1(5, wing 8-9, tail 8. Distribution. — Northern part of northern hemis])here ; south in winter nearly across the United States ; breeding from Labrador to Al.iska. Nest. — I^sually on the grassy bank of a pond or stream, nuide of grass and lined with down, t^gys : 5 to 9. The old-squaw, or long-tailed duck, is nuunlv a bird of the arctic coasts, migrating south into the northern United States in winter. GENUS HISTRIONICUS. 165. Histrionicus histrionicus (Linn.). IlAULK.t/riN Dick. A .small duck with moderate crest, short bill, and long sharp tail. 62 DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS Adult male in winter and spring: head and neck bluish black, with white patches ; collar white ; shoul- der bar black and white ; middle of crown black, bordered behind by chestnut ; chest and shoulders dark plumbeous ; belly sooty, sides bright rufous ; wing with steel blue specu- lum and four white spots ; rump black, with white spot on each side. Adult male in summer : colors much duller than in winter. Adult female : head, neck, and upper parts sooty, with a white spot on ear coverts and a large white patch on side of face ; belly mottled grayish. Length: 15.00- 17.50, wing 7.40-8.00, bill 1.05-1.10. Distribution. — Eastern Asia, Greenland, Iceland, and northern North America ; south to the middle states in winter ; breeding from New- foundland and the mountains of Col- Fig. 78. Harlequin Duck. orado and California northward to the arctic coast. Nest. — In hollow tree or stump or under rocks or driftwood. Eggs : 6 to 8. The harlequin duck is rare enough in the United States to excite keen interest, especially when found on its breeding grounds. A little flock of the richly barred and spotted beauties fishing in a foaming mountain stream, diving, bobbing on the rough surface, drifting or darting down over the rapids, and then gathering in a bunch below to fly back up stream for another descent, suggests a lot of schoolboys on a coasting party rather than a flock of birds engaged in the serious business of getting breakfast. They seem to enjoy the icy water and their power to dare and buffet its tor- rents. Although breeding more or less commonly in the mountains from Colorado and California nortliward, little is known of their nesting habits. Nests are reported in the far north under shelter of rocks and driftwood. Vernon Bailey. GENUS OIDEMIA. General Characters. — Bill with base much swollen (except in female americana) , partly orange in males, black in females ; colors mainly black or dusky. KEY TO SPECIES. 1. Feathering of head stopping far short of nostrils . americana, p. 63. 1'. Feathering of head not stopping far short of nostrils. 2. Lores not feathered as far forward as forehead. perspicillata, p. 63. 2'. Lores feathered as far forward as forehead . . deglandi, p. 63. DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 63 Subgenus Oidemia. 163. Oidemia americana Swains. American Scotek. Plumage dark without white markings ; eyes alwajs brown. Adult male : bill swollen back of nostrils, with a large yellow and red spot at base, including nostrils ; plumage black or sooty. Adult female : bill black, with a trace of yellow at base in breeding plumage, not swollen at base ; upper parts dusky brown, under parts grayish brown. Young : like female but lighter and indistinctly barred below. Length : 17.00-21.50, wing 8.75-9.50, bill 1.05-1.80. Distribution. — Northern part of North America, breeding in Labrador, Hudson Bay region, and Alaska ; south in winter to New Jersey, Illinois, Colorado, and southern California. Nest. — In grass or willows near water. The American scoter is a duck of the northern seacoasts, mi- grating but sparingly into the United States. Subgenus Melanitta. 165. Oidemia deglandi Bonap. White-winged Scoter. Bill swollen at base over nostrils and on sides ; tip orange in male ; feathers of lores coming close to nostrils, as far forward as those of forehead. Adult male : eyes white; plumage black or sooty, with white eye patch and wing speculum. Adult female : eyes brown ; plumage sooty gray, darker above ; wing speculum white. Length : 19.75- 23.00, wing 10.0.5-11.40, bill 1.40-1.70. Distribution. — Northern North America, breeding in North Dakota but mainly north of the United States ; south in winter to Chesapeake Bay, Colorado, and Lower Cali- fornia. Nest. — A depression in the ground lined with gra.ss, twigs, moss, and down ; usually concealed among dwarf willows, rosebushes, or spruces. Eggs : 5 to 8, deep buff. The white-winged scoter is more or less common along the Pacitic coast, but rare inland in the United States. Subgenus Pelionetta. • 166. Oidemia perspicillata {Linn.). Surf Scoter. Bill with swollen sides of base naked ; feathere of forehead reaching to near nostril, of lores only to cunier of mouth ; bill black and less swollen in femah' ; red, orange. yt41ow, and white in male, with large black spot on side of base. Adult male: entire plumage velvety black except for triangular white patch on forehead and another on back of head; eyes whit«*. Adult femah' : upi)er parts sooty black, under parts .sooty gray, usually with white patch at corner of mouth. Young: like female, but with whitish patches at base of bill and back of ear. Male : length 20-22, wing 0.25-0.75, bill 1.30-1.00. Female: smaller. 64 DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS Distribution. — North America, breeding from Sitka and the Gulf of St. Lawrence north to the arctic regions ; south in winter to Florida, Colorado, and Lower California. Nest. — In a bunch of marsh grass, on ground in tall grass, or under low branches of scrubby trees ; made of plant stems and lined with down. Eggs : 5 to 8, cream color. The surf scoters are abundant on both coasts, and during the breeding season quite common on the large northern inland waters. Colonel Goss in describing their habits says that they are " at home as well in the surging surf as upon the smooth waters, resting and sleeping at night out on the open waters. . . . They rise in a running, laborious manner, but when fairly on the wing fly rapidly, and in stormy weather hug closely to the water." The ducks are very active when feeding, diving so constantly and rapidly one after another that they are continually disappearing and popping up. The bivalve is a favorite food with them. Colonel Goss says, its shell apparently digesting with as much ease as its contents. As they also eat fish, their flesh is coarse and rather rank. GENUS ERISMATURA. 167. Erismatura jamaicensis (GmeL). Ruddy Duck. Bill short and widest near end, bright blue in adult male. Adult male : top and back of head black ; neck and rest of upper parts chestnut ; cheeks and chin white ; belly gray, waslied with silvery white, or sometimes rusty. Female and immature: upper parts plain grayish brown ; sides of head whitish, with a dusky streak from corner of mouth to back of Fig. 80. ^^ ear ; under parts gray, washed with silverv white or rusty. Length : 13.50-16.00, wing 5.75-6.00, bill 1.50-1.60. Distribution. — North America and south to Colombia, breeding over much of its North Anaerican range. I^est. — A bulky mass of plant stems on the Avater among tules, reeds, or cat-tails. Eggs : 9 to 14, creamy or light buffy. The ruddy duck is common over much of the western United States, and breeds abundantly in places that suit its taste, especially in the grass-fringed lakes of the northern plains and the big shallow tule lakes of the Great Basin country. It is a duck of much indi- viduality. It sits jauntily on the water, its spike tail tilted up, and with bold audacity holds its ground till you are at close quarters, then as you think it is going to fly, and raise your gun for a wing shot, it suddenly dives. Its skill at hiding under water till it has gained the other side of a point or island would do credit to a grebe, DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 65 and has doubtless come from its habit of feediiii^- at the bottom of the lake. Goss gives its food as seeds, roots, aud plant stems, shelltish and various forms of life found in both deep aud shallow water. He adds that when fat it is a good table duck. My own experience is that, roasted Indian fashion in the fire with the feathers on, its meat is juicy, tender, and of delicious flavor, particularly if you are hungry! Vernon Bailey. GENUS NOMONYX. [168.] Nomohyx dominicus {Linn.). Masked Duck. iSinular to the riuldy duck, hut tail with 20 instead of IS feathers, and bill smaller with wider nail — nail over .25 wide instead of .10 as in the ruddy. Adult male : front of head black ; neck, sides, and back bright chestnut, streaked on back with black ; wings black, with a large white patch. Adult female : crown blackish ; side of head with two black and two buffy stripes ; neck and sides dull brownish ; back duskv. Length : 12.00-14.50, wing- about 5.50-5.75, tail ;:;.50-4.50, bill I.oO-I.oT". Distribution. — Tropical Amei'ica and West Indies ; north on Gulf coast to Lower Rio Grande ; accidental in eastern United States. GENUS CHEN. General Characters. — Bill short and hig-h at base, dull red, with whitish tip ; feet dull red ; plumage of adults white, exeei^t for wing', which lias a black tip and adjoining- gray patch. Young- with head, neck, and upper parts light gray ; rump, tail, and under parts wliite, feet and tail dusky. KEY TO SPECIES. 1. Bill very stout, with black along edges. 2. Smaller, wing 14.50-17.00 hyperborea, p. ()5 2. Larger, wing 17.o5-17. 50 nivalis, p. <'>(). 1'. Bill not very stout, without black on cutting edges ; wing l;].75-b").5(). rossii, p. OG. 169. Chen hyperborea (Pall.). Lesser Snow Goose. A